White Knight Chronicles: Fledgling Phoenix
by Shogun of Ransei
Summary: This is the story of White knight chronicles one told from the perspective of a mercenary who takes the place of the games avatar character.This will be story one of a story trilogy. Rated M for blood, gore, and minor language.
1. Characters

Original Characters

Eddoe Yonthanx (Original Character)-A young man with a past shrouded in mystery, he has come to Balandor looking for work. He is a skilled warrior that shows neither hesitation nor mercy in combat, he will fight bitterly to the end no matter how strong the opponent. He is always seeking strong opponents to fight and won't hesitate to initiate combat against them. He has a darker personality which leads many to believe that his past is not a happy one. He is a realist who likes to gather as many facts as he can before making a descion. He carries around with him at all times a red war fan with gold on the tips called the Phoenix Wing. This weapon increases his magical capabilities greatly to the point that he can literally fry a troll in its own fat with his fire magic. Also while wielding the Phoenix Wing he gains access to unique spells.

Age-19

Game Comparison Level-77

Appearance-Brown Madoreas style hair, cold grey eyes, hooked nose

Race-Human

Armor-Master Lorica

Starter Weapon-Broadsword, Phoenix Wing, Asurax2

Unique Magic-Phoenix Fire, Flames of Rebirth, Phoenix Mode

Personality-Aggressive, quite, cunning, manipulative, driven, proud, confident, loyal

Likes-challenging fights, Strong opponents, solitude, country side, training, reading, Faria

Dislikes-Weak opponents, cities, wasted time, spiders, crowds, cowards, Magi

"A fight is a fight no matter how distasteful,"-Eddoes comment about having to engage the Lord of Greydal plains.

"My families radiance shall shine throughout the ages,"-Eddoe engaging the Magi at Balandor castle.

"You know nothing of my pain so don't you even think you understand how I feel,"-Eddoe growing angry at Yulie.

"To witness all you love burn around you doesn't just change you…It destroys you,"-Eddoe explaining part of his past.

"Like a phoenix I shall rise from the ashes to strike you down Dragias,"-Eddoe taunting Dragias at their first conflict.

Leonard-A young man living in Balandor and he works at the local winery as the errand boy for his employer. He is curious about the world and its people to the point that he annoys some people. He is a kind hearted young man that wears his heart on his sleeve and is seen by most people that he is naïve.

Age-17

Game Comparison Level-2

Appearance-Ginger hair brought back into a tail, average height, thin, average muscled

Race-Human

Armor-Leonard's basic armor

Starter Weapon-Short Sword, wooden shield

Unique Spells-None

Personality-kind, curious, naïve, driven

Yulie-A young woman who speaks her mind without a thought about the consequences, she is always ready to fight for her beliefs and is the more cautious than Leonard who is always will to trust everyone. She was raised in the farming village of Parma which is just a stone throws distance away from Balandor. She is a childhood friend of Leonard's and she has feelings for him but is afraid to act on them.

Age-17

Game Comparison Level-3

Appearance-Purple bowl cut hair, average height, often thought of as pretty

Race-Human

Armor-Yulie's basic armor

Starter Weapon-Peasant Bow

Unique Spells-None

Personality-fiery, proud, confident, cautious,


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1-A simple Job!?

I stood in the winery waiting for my orders; I was a mercenary you see so my loyalties went to whoever was footing the bill for my services at the moment, so one day I could be your ally the next the man trying to skewer on the battlefield, and I know this doesn't sound like a pleasant way to live but hey it's a living. I looked around examining the locks on my trunk to make sure they were secure, this was all I had left of my past life, and I would kill anyone who tried to take it from me I'm kind of sentimental like that. I turned slightly my armor rustling and the broadsword on my hip whispering against its sheath as I heard a creak which I realized a moment later was just my current employer pacing back and forth. The job was a simple one so I wasn't using my better equipment which I had locked in the chest. I was still on edge because I was not well liked by some people in Balandor due to me the aiding the Farians in their war with Balandor. I was just a child then but I had already killed people, I was a warrior trained by the toughest teacher in the world…Life. My life has been difficult since I was small; I've had to kill to survive, and many other things that would be frowned upon in normal society especially since I was so young. I was confident but I wasn't stupid, I knew that there was going to be a party for some noble, that meant that a lot of rich windbags would attend, and wherever money gathered trouble was never far behind so I had hidden on my person my father's blade Radiance, a beautiful and well-crafted sword that was forged in a city that few today remembered. The sword was light-weight but could deliver the damage of a blade much larger than itself, it was also beautiful to look at but this beauty held a dark secret this blade had shed more blood in the first month after it's forging than many soldiers do in a lifetime of war, and it would shed more blood before it left my hand I guaranteed this. I was starting to get impatient about the arrival of the person I was to escort to collect wine for the party when I heard the door open and as I turned to see who it was I was a little surprised to see how young he was. He had to be about sixteen or seventeen years of age, he was physically fit, with ginger hair tied into a ponytail, blue eyes, a brown leather vest over a white linen shirt, brown leather pants, and knee high boots. He wasn't paying attention but I could see that was about to change as boss stalked angrily up to him.

"Leonard where the hell have you been," the employer yelled at the boy named Leonard, "This guy has been waiting for you to get your ass here all day so you can get going to fetch the wine,"

Leonard looked over towards me and did something I would never have expected from he extended his hand towards me for a handshake.

"Hi my names Leonard," he said waiting for me to shake it.

"I'd prefer if we didn't get to friendly," I stated brushing off his warm welcome, "It lets me sleep better at night if the mission should go south."

"Wait wha-," he began before a wooden mug clocked him in the back of the head, I could have warned him to duck as I had seen his boss winding up to whip it at Leonard but I wasn't paid to protect him from his boss.

"Leonard quit your chattering and get your ass moving," the Warg screamed at his employee.

"Yeah, yeah we're going keep your shirt on," Leonard yelled back heading for the door with me hot on his heels. I did not want to mess with this warg, the sole reason for this being that I could sense something dangerous about this him.

"So we have to go to a warehouse in Parma and pick up the wine," Leonard said with a grin as we started off towards the main gate, "So you're new to Balandor right?"

"I've been here a couple of times," I commented lightly, "but not in recent years."

"Oh why haven't you been here in a while?" Leonard asked me.

"I've been paid to protect you not tell you my life story," I said snidely, "That costs extra I'm afraid."

"You'd tell your whole life story for coin?" Leonard asked me shocked.

"No I wouldn't," I answered coldly, "My life is worth more than money."

"You know you could be friendlier," Leonard told me.

"I'm being paid to keep you alive," I sneered, "not to be your buddy."

We continued to walk towards the main gate leading towards the Balastor plains in silence my words apparently hurting Leonard's feelings but I didn't really care. I have gone most of my life on my own, occasionally I would work with other mercenaries to take down a target, or I would travel with refugees when I felt the need to disappear. I didn't want companionship or fellowship, to me it was too big of a gamble, I had long ago given up on the notions of friendship, and the reason for this was because I was weak. I couldn't stand the thought of growing close to someone only to lose them again. As we walked towards the main gate in silence I heard someone say something that snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Did you see Archduke Dalem's procession?" a female warg asked her friend.

"Yes I did," her human friend answered, "I didn't think he would bring so many of his own warriors."

"I would have been shocked if he didn't," snarled the warg women, "After the coward ordered the assassination of Princess Cisna and Queen Floraine,"

When I heard this I grew angry, I knew Archduke Dalem, and I knew he was one of the bravest men I knew. Leonard looked over at me and apparently saw my scowl at the women's comments. I didn't really care what people thought, I knew the Archduke was not responsible for the queens death, I knew he was no coward, and I knew he was a good man.

"Hey what's wrong?" Leonard questioned me.  
"Them," I said jerking my head towards the two gossiping women, "They talk about the Archduke like he's nothing but slime."

The women were still gossiping about the Archduke and I was growing angrier by the minute.

"The Archduke?" Leonard asked a confused look on his face.

"Archduke Dalem," I told him, "The leader of Faria."

"Isn't Faria the kingdom that attacked Balandor?" Leonard asked me.

"Yes…and the Archduke himself led the attack on the castle," I told Leonard, "But his forces never breached the inner courtyard."

"How do you know all of this?" Leonard asked curious.

I was shocked by his lack of suspicion in his words, he was just curious, and he would remain that way.

"We're burning daylight," I told Leonard, "So if you don't want to upset your boss we should probably get moving."

"You're right," Leonard told me with a sigh, "If we don't hurry Rappci will skin me alive."

As we walked down the street I felt that I was being a little cold to the young man walking next to me. I felt bad he had done nothing to earn this cold attitude from me, I may have earned the ire of many powerful people in Balandor but Leonard apparently knew nothing of my history with the city, and I doubted he would ever find out so I decided to tell him my name.

"Leonard," I called out to him gruffly.

"Yeah, something wrong?" He asked me.

"No, I just realized I've been rude to you when you've done nothing to deserve it," I told him with a sigh.

"It's alright," He said, "As a mercenary you must lose a lot of friends to battle."

"Yes, I do but that still doesn't give me the right to be so rude," I apologized, "So let me formally introduce myself. My name is Eddoe Yonthanx, sword for hire, survivalist expert, and now bodyguard."

"It's nice to meet you Eddoe," Leonard said extending his hand.

"Look just because I've told you my name doesn't mean were going to be friends," I told him, "I'm sorry you seem like a good kid but this is just a job."

"Hey I'm seventeen," he yelled at me.

"Well you're not exactly showing it by acting out like this," I said a small smirk on my face.

"I am not acting ou-," was all he got when he was bumped by a man in a travel worn monks robe carrying a long object wrapped in white cloth.

"That was rude," I said with a slight smirk recognizing a man who was doing his best to stay incognito by looking like a poor beggar he could pass by with few remembering him, the poor of a city were often the best spies due to them being everywhere and that they are often desperate to change their lot in life.

"Was that a friend of yours?" Leonard questions me.

"Leonard the life of a mercenary doesn't exactly allow for friendships," I laughed, "and besides I don't really need friends in my life."

"How can you live like that?" He questioned me as we walked out towards the gate and whether through fate or like an excuse came up so I didn't have to answer.

"Come one come all to see the world famous Markus Revelers," shouted a small man dressed in a black top hat and white overcoat, "We are her to celebrate Princess Cisna's coming of age."

"I've never liked clowns," I said with a sneer, "especially such poor ones."

"I've never been to a circus before," Leonard told me, "I hope we make it back in time to catch a show."

"You won't miss much I'm guessing kid," I assured him, "I've traveled the world and have never even heard of the Markus Revelers."

"So where have you been to?" Leonard questioned me.

"Look kid my past is my business," I scolded Leonard, "I'm not probing you about your past now am I."

"Look if we're going to be working together I think I should know more about you," Leonard shot back at me.

"Listen we're not working together," I barked at him, "You're the client."

"You really are stuck up you know," Leonard said with a sigh.

"Listen we need to stop with this nonsense," I told him gruffly, "we're approaching Balastor plains and it'll be much easier to protect you if you're paying attention."

Leonard let out a sigh and began to walk ahead of me, I didn't understand him, I was purposely being standoffish and stuck up so he would leave me alone, but no matter what I did he was still being kind to me, and that was really starting to piss me off. We were approaching the gate that separated the area just outside of Balandor from Balastor plains. I could see through the gate and the first impression I had was that theses plains were beautiful.

"Wow," I exclaimed, "Nature is just so beautiful."

"You've never been to Balastor before?" Leonard asked.

"Never," I told Leonard truthfully, "I've only ever been on the Greydal side of Balandor before."

"So you've never been to Parma then?" He questioned ever curious about my past.

"How many active mercenaries do you ever see in a farming community?" I asked rhetorically, "I've only studied this region through literature but could you tell me something about the local fauna."

"Well the most dangerous thing you're likely to face here is a giant wasp," Leonard told me with a laugh.

"So this should be a cakewalk," I sighed displeased.

"You don't sound too happy," Leonard said with a slight grin.

"I'm not," I said simply, "This job is too simple for my tastes I would prefer if something like a dragon would swoop down from the skies and started burning stuff now that would be a challenge,"

"A dragon…you wish a dragon would swoop down on Balastor plains?" Leonard asked me shocked, "are you crazy."

"I've already kill three dragons one more shouldn't be that difficult," I laughed, "and I've always loved a challenge."

Leonard just shook his head and sighed as we set out across the plains. I was watching the movements of the monsters on the field like he said the most dangerous thing seemed to be the Giant wasps but they were few, a rookie would make the mistake of counting out the Kibbles and Polkans but they could bring down a rookie like Leonard in seconds if they were in a large enough groups.

"Hey there's a monster!" Leonard yelled charging it, "Let's get it."

I whipped towards Leonard as he started charging a kibble completely clueless to the ten other kibbles in the nearby tall grass.

"Stop damn it," I roared at him but I was too late he had struck the monster infuriating the others nearby.

He was a good thirty feet ahead of me and I didn't know if I would reach him in time so I did the only thing that I thought could save this fool I pulled out my war fan the Phoenix Wing and launched my attack. With a single wave of my fan I summoned a small twister which pulled the kibbles away from Leonard before they could completely swarm him. By the time I had cleared the area Leonard had been beaten into a state of unconsciousness.

"Why do I always get stuck with the fools," I muttered to myself raising my fan as a warm golden light began to shine from it washing over the unconscious boy healing his wounds and bringing back to consciousness.

"What happened?" Leonard asked groggily getting to his feet only for me to lay him back out, "What the hell was that for!"

"Look boy!" I barked threateningly, "You're hide is only worth something to me alive and your starting to make it more costly for me to keep you alive with your stupidity."

"Are you threatening me?" Leonard accused me.

"No, I'm warning you," I growled, "If you want to throw your life away do it when I'm not here."

"What do you mean throw my life away those were just kibbles," He yelled at me, "It was just dumb luck they beat me."

"It doesn't matter how they beat you," I shouted right back, "All that matters is that you lost and if I hadn't been here to save you you'd be dead."

"I could've taken them if you hadn't screamed," he accused me.

"Kid," I told him disappointed, "blaming others is not going to get you anything."

"What do you know," he started yelling at me childishly.

"I know that you have people who care about you," I whispered, "and before you say anything think about what your boss has done for you,"

With that I turned and began walking towards Parma furious at this boy, he had people who cared about him, people who went out of their way to hire people like me to protect them, and he just went into battle all gung ho. I hadn't told him what his boss was really paying me for which was to keep an eye on him throughout the celebrations due to Leonard's knack for getting into trouble. He had everything I wished I had but was denied either by myself or fate; he had a family, friends, and a home that he could return to. Fate had conspired to steal all these things from me and now I denied myself two of them until I could reclaim my home. **_Wait why in the hell is this bothering me is this bothering me so much._**

"Shit," I swore softly to myself, "I like the kid…damn it."

**_He reminds me of myself when I was younger…so full of himself, so proud, so arrogant. Damn it!_** I wasn't happy with this situation all. In the couple of hours I had known this fool I had grown to like him. I didn't want him to suffer as I did, but this boy was reckless and proud so I knew if I tried to help him it would more than likely blow up in face. As thoughts and plans raced through my mind I looked up to see the gates of Parma were only twenty yards away from me so I just sat down and waited for the fool to catch up to me my anger had hardly dissipated. I sat there for about ten minutes waiting for him and when he still hadn't shown up I was starting to worry.

"Where the hell are you kid," I whispered to myself.

**_If that kid got himself killed by a kibble or polkan his boss is going to have my hide…Damn it, where is he…could he have gotten lost…I doubt that though Parma is nearly a straight shot from Balandor._**

"Damn it kid," I sighed turning to face the gates, "and I thought that this would be an easy job, but no the kid has to go and be difficult…I hope he's alright."

"Ahhh, I knew you had feelings," a familiar voice from behind me stated.

"You son of a bitch," I said turning around to face Leonard, "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough," he snickered.

"If you tell anyone about this I'll kill you," I threatened.

"Whatever, let's just get the wine," Leonard said with a laugh.

"Arrogant prick," I muttered under my breath.

He ignored my comment as we walked through the gate into the area between Parma and Balastor plains which I thought are more beautiful than even the plains. These woods were full of life, birds singing in the branches, crickets chirping in the grass, and smaller animals like foxes scurrying through the underbrush. It reminded me of the woods around my homeland that I would play in as a child but it was nothing compared to the forest I explored when I was growing up. I always found it interesting to study the local fauna and this always got me wondering that if things were different maybe I would have been a scientist or a historian but not the warrior I had become. Thinking like this always depressed me but I couldn't help it I loved to learn new things and the first rule of learning is to be open to new Ideas and possibilities. Apparently my depression had reached my face because Leonard began asking me questions…again.

"Hey, Eddoe are you all right?" He questioned me.

"Worry about yourself…all right kid," I told him.

"Look I'm just wondering if you're alright," he told me genuine worry in his eyes.

"Look worrying about others draws your focus from your objective," I explained to him coldly, "true warriors will leave the fallen were they are…the mission is more important."

"That's cold so…so you would just leave a person behind to die?" He yelled at me the worry being replaced by anger.

"You can do nothing for the dead," I continued explaining to him, "but to fail at the mission they gave their lives for is the greatest dishonor that you can let happen."

"Urgh so you would sacrifice others just to see the success of a job?" he yelled at me.

"Yes I would," I answered calmly; "To let ones emotions dictate what one does is folly."

"What made you so uncaring?" Leonard asked glaring at me.

"What made me the man I am today is none of your damn business," I whispered threateningly, "So you better quit your damn questioning me about it."

With that I stalked out of the woods into Parma nearly trampling a young purple haired woman.

"Hey watch were you're going," She yelled at me but I ignored her, "Jerk."

I really didn't care what this woman said to me I've been insulted and isolated most my life either by racial boundaries or just being myself. I will not act differently just to be accepted because if they accept me when I'm not being myself then they're not truly accepting me. I was angry at the fool boy even more now, why was he so determined to act out to be noticed, he had a home to go to what else could he want.

"That ginger haired twit," I scowled, "Is just a fool waiting to throw away all that he has for adventure…Leonard you're a damn fool!"

That's when I heard it behind me, the quick footsteps of someone running at me, the intake of breath from exerting oneself before an attack, the rush of air as a fist rushed towards the back of my head. I dodged it by simply moving my head to the left and letting the blow sail by my face, as the attack had left my attacker overextended I grabbed the arm, flipping the attacker over my shoulder, and as they hit the ground I had already drawn my broadsword the tip rested only an inch above the bridge of her noise. I examined my attacker quickly realizing it was the purple haired girl from before though now her garments were less than clean after I threw her into the dirt.

"Hmph…just another overconfident weakling," I muttered to myself, "Just like him."

"How dare you insult Leonard," she shouted at me, "I doubt you even know him."

"I know enough that he is a weak minded fool," I snarled at the girl my anger clouding my mind, "I know he seeks battle when he doesn't need to…A man who seeks battle seeks death…his or his enemies."

With that I turned and stalked off deeper into the village, it was a quaint village, the kind I would have liked, not a lot of people to bother me, and quite. I did not know where my feet were taking me but I let them carry me where they would uncaring and by the time I realized that the noise of everyday life had died down and so had my rage, time alone is what I truly needed. I looked around and realized I had found my way to a small cemetery. I had always liked cemeteries for the sole reason being that they were normally quiet and peaceful, so I sheathed my sword, sat down, and pulled from my satchel an old leather bound book. It was my journal; the outside was bound in old cracked leather, on the inside the pages were yellowed by time, and emblazoned on the leather cover was a picture of a fox its left forepaw resting on a bucket helmet. I began writing in my journal in the flowing script of the Farians, though they spoke the same language as the people of Balandor their written language was very different, the words had a grace and beauty that bordered on art and it took a steady well trained hand to write it. Many Farians now only wrote in the language of Balandor as this was considered basic but I chose to continue to write in the old tongue just for sentimental reasons. Today I wrote about the job I was currently on, the hope that I may speak to Archduke Dalem, and that I could finally apologize for my sins to the royal family of Balandor. In the couple of minutes that I was alone I had written all I could about these topics. As I closed my journal something caught my eye, something I had not looked at for years, and so I looked at the earliest writings in my journal the writings written in neither the language of Balandor or Faria. I felt the tears well up in my eyes as I looked at the scrawled handwriting of a small child, the first words I had ever written in this journal, the words about my father, my beloved home, and the darkness that took it. I had sworn on that day I would do everything to bring about my father's dream, I would avenge him, and I would see this done even if it cost me my life. I stood up drying the wiping the tears from my face, I couldn't sit there and cry I had a job to do, and if the job didn't get done I didn't get paid. I started walking down the hill to where I had seen the beastwain earlier. As I arrived I saw the purple haired chick and Ginger standing there talking about how they were supposed to load the wine casks onto the wain, the casks that they were talking about were huge, they had to weigh about a hundred pounds each, and there was no crane to lift them into the wagon. As I approached the wain I had drawn my war fan with a slight flourish that drew the purple haired girl's attention.

"What do you want jerk?" She scowled at me.

"I wish to do what I'm paid for," I coldly growled back at her.

"Oh and what is that?" she barked back at me.

"My job is the same as yours," I told her coolly enjoying the look of confusion on her face, "I've been paid by your employer to protect the shipment of wine until it reaches the safety of the palace confines."

"Yeah right, tell me why I should believe you," the girl scowled at me.

"Yulie he's tell the truth," Ginger sighed exasperatedly.

"Leonard…you're kidding right," the girl named Yulie begged, "I mean he's a complete jerk…he attacked me…and insulted you."

"I didn't attack you girl, I defended myself," I retorted dryly, "As for insulting Ginger here…the truth hurts,"

"Yulie I know we don't like it but Rappci paid him to help," Ginger sighed, "and do we really want to load these casks on our own."

"No Leonard I guess you're right," Yulie sighed the fight seeming to drain from her, "besides we need to find Raus."

"I take it that Raus is the driver?" I asked to which I got a nod from Yulie, "Then you go find him I'll load up the casks."

"How do you expect load them all by yourself?" Ginger questioned curiosity once again shining in his eyes.

"With magic of course," I answered, "Now we've wasted enough time talking, go find the driver while I load the casks, and do it quickly we're running out of daylight."

As they walked away I used my war fan to summon a small whirlwind to pick up the casks one at a time and set them into the wain. I was done for what must have been ten minutes before they brought back a little rabbit like man with a slight beard. I glanced over towards the horizon gazing at the beauty of the sunset my fan aglow in the fiery light feeling a calm peace fall over me for the first time since this job started.

"Wow he looks almost serene right now," I heard Yulie whisper.

"I am at peace," I muttered without any emotional influx, "for the moment I am content with how this mission is going."

"He seems almost a different person," I heard Yulie whisper to herself as Leonard walked over to talk to Raus.

"I feel I must apologize for the rude comments I made earlier concerning your friend," I told her still without emotion, "but I feel I must also tell you why I was upset."

"Oh, and what could excuse you from being such a jerk," she taunted me trying to upset me.

"I'm afraid that your taunts are less than effective," I told her a small smile on my lips, "but the reason I was so upset with your friend is that I see so much potential in him."

"Potential for what?" she questioned me.

"He has the potential to become a defender of the people," I answered a light breeze blowing through the town my war fan swaying in the breeze, "but he is reckless and seems to care nothing for his own safety."

"What can I say Leonard is brave," Yulie commented a big smile appearing on her face.

"What he displays' is not bravery but arrogance," I retorted the calm never leaving my face, "to be brave you need to be afraid."

"Wait don't those two contradict each other?" she questioned me confused.

"Not entirely," I answered actually enjoying explaining myself, "True bravery is when you still do it even though you're terrified, an example would be you want to protect your friend from some scorpion monsters but you're afraid of scorpions but still you go to protect them, now that is true courage to face your fears for others."

"I guess you make sense," Yulie told me, "and you don't sound as mean as you did before."

"Don't tell anyone," I told her, "I can't have people thinking I've gone soft."

"Why?" She questioned.

"That's my business," I answered her, "and in my business friends are a luxury that I can't afford."

With that I turned and left for the main gates of Parma to wait for Raus to get the beastwain moving. As I waited I examined my surroundings noticing little conflict there was in this rustic village. **_Anywhere with little conflict will be torn apart as soon as some appears…pity. _**I turned when I heard the rattle of the beastwain signaling its approach. I was shocked to see Yulie standing there with a longbow and quiver.

"Is she coming with us?" I inquired.

"Yes," Yulie answered, "and I don't care what you think."

"Hmph," I snorted, "Do what you wish."

I watched her walk out of the gate and as I watched her I examined her much closer. She had bowl cut purple hair, a yellow leather shirt skirt, mid-thigh boots, and I think short shorts. I wasn't sure about that last one though I prayed to god I was.

"Why is it that you two are so defiant?" I turned to ask Ginger tucking away my war fan and drawing my broadsword.

"It's just who we are," Ginger told me.

"Hmph," I growled, "We better get moving before she gets too far ahead."

We took off after Yulie and the beastwain. When we caught up with them Ginger, Yulie, and Raus all started talking to each other as I actually defended the beastwain from giant wasp attacks. They were out in force since the sun was setting, I wasn't grumbling about this though as it was a challenge, and I was always looking for a challenge. Before I knew it the outer gates of Balandor were in sight but something was wrong.

"Do you hear that?" Ginger questioned.

"What I don't hear anything," Yulie answered.

"That's the problem," I said calmly, "there are no birds, and no insects...something's coming this way."

As soon as I said this birds came flying out of the trees and thunder footfalls could be heard and out of the trees came a sylvan troll.

"You've got to be kidding me a troll," Yulie yelled.

"It must have smelt the wine," Leonard shouted.

"Less talking more fighting," I yelled readying my broadsword.

I saw the troll's movements, I saw him favor his left leg, I saw his eyes dart from the wine to the greatest perceived threat which is the ranged fighter in our group Yulie, I saw the tightening of the muscles in the hand that gripped its hammer, and before I knew what I was doing I was on the move.

"Move you purple haired dumbas-," was all I managed to get out as I pushed Yulie out of the way and took the full hit from the troll's hammer which sent be me flying into the side of the wain and flipped over it into the brush on the side of the road.

"Yulie are you all right," I heard Ginger yell.

"I'm fine but what about that mercenary," I heard Yulie yell back, "Leonard watch out."

At this I was up out of the ditch rushing at the troll, my broadsword in hand, the world blurred around me, I swung my blade feeling it strike the trolls hide, and cleave through it like a hot knife through butter. There the troll fell cut in two at the waist; its hammer falling from its now limp hand, and the ground shuddered as it hit the ground. I turned around to see the awestruck looks on Yulie's, Leonard's, and Raus's faces which were priceless.

"How did you kill that troll so easily?" Yulie cheered, "It was huge."

"Actually compared to most trolls that one was actually quite small," I stated truthfully.

"Why don't you just take a compliment?" Ginger asked, "Instead of being so modest."

"I'm not being modest," I told him, "That troll is actually is small compared to most trolls."

"W-w-well then don't you think we should get moving then," stuttered Raus looking around nervously.

"He's right it's starting to get late," Ginger commented.

"Wait a minute," Yulie shouted turning towards me, "You called me a dumbass."

"Yes," I said unflinchingly and as I said this I noticed both Raus and Ginger flinch.

"Well aren't you going to apologize to me?" she asked me with a glare.

"No," I told her as I saw Raus's and Ginger's jaws drop.

"And why the hell not," She shouted.

"The reason is you are a dumbass," I told her dryly, "Only an idiot would stand there and try to shoot when they had a troll barreling down on them."

I had apparently stunned all of them into silence with how blunt I was with my comments. As I began walking away I heard whispering and then a hard thwack followed quickly by Ginger's groans of pain.

"Look you two can beat on each other later," I told them not letting them see the small grin on my face, "but it would probably be better to get the wine into the city before you cripple each other."

There was a bit of grumbling as we moved the beastwain through the outer gate and towards the city. We walked for a good ten minutes before we reached the inner gates and by the time we did night had already fallen onto Balandor.

"I promised Rappci that we'd have the wine back before sundown," Ginger sighed.

"Don't worry kid," I assured him, "I'll explain that we had a delay."

"Thanks," Ginger told me.

"It's not a prob-," I began before I was cut off by squealing.

"Oh, a circus," Yulie was squealing society.

"Sorry folks," Ginger began, "but the delivery comes first."

"Aaaahhhhh," Yulie whined.

"Don't worry miss," I comforted Yulie, "You're not missing much, this is one of the drabbest circuses I've ever seen, and I've never even heard of the Markus Revelers…World famous my ass."

**_Wait a second…I just comforted her…what the hell is going on damn it…I feel like I know these people…what the hell is wrong with me...I never comfort anyone…Damn it. _**I turned around to see her staring dumbstruck at me and I couldn't figure out what was happening to me.

"Can't this beast go any faster!?" I questioned hurriedly.

"I'm sorry boss," Raus answered, "but no he can't."

"Well let's just hurry up and get it to the palace," I stated becoming calm and detached once more.

We hurried on with me leading the way past the carnival and to the palace gates where two guards stood waiting. As we approached one guard signaled for us to stop while the other shifted his pole-arm.

"What business do you have here," the guard who stopped us asked.

"Rappci wines here sir," Ginger jumped in stating this bit of information cheerfully, "where here to deliver tonight's wine."

"Where the hell have you been," the second guard snarled, "you were supposed to be here hours ago?"

"Well you see there was a mons-," Ginger began to explain.

"We don't want your excuses," the second guard barked.

"Take the wine to the kitchen entrance," the first guard said pointing to his right.

"Of course sir," Yulie jumped in bowing slightly, "we at Rappci wines look forward to serving you again."

We turned towards the direction the guard had pointed to and lead the beastwain in that direction.

"Yeah I look forward to serving you again," Yulie muttered fuming, "Serve you a knuckle sandwich…Jerk."

"Look Yulie calm down," Ginger said trying to calm her down, "Rappci really needs this."

"Yeah but-," she began before I cut her off.

"Getting you out of scraps with the guards is above what I'm being paid for," I barked at her, "and you would not last in the dungeons of this place."

"Oh and why do you think that?" Yulie roared at me, "Is it because I'm a girl."

"They don't care if you're a girl or if you're a child," I shot back at her glaring, "All they care about is how much information they can get out of you and bet on how long it takes you to expire."

With this I picked up my walking pace so Ginger was in between me and her. I really didn't want to get into a fist fight tonight. As we approached the kitchen entrance I saw a portly kind faced woman standing there waiting for us. As we approached Ginger ran up to her and began explaining why they were late and by the time I got there I only caught the last part of the conversation.

"This is the wine for the party," Ginger said with a slight bow.

"Thank you lad," the woman said giving him a warm smile, "This should do fine."

With that she walked back in to get help unloading the casks.

"How long do you think we have to wait?" I asked turning to where Ginger was only for him not to be there, "Where did Ginger go."

"Leonard," I heard Yulie whisper up the steps from me, "What are you doing."

"Don't you want to see what all the fuss is about?" Ginger asked Yulie approaching a door that was ajar at the top of the stairs.

"Leonard I don't want to get arrested," she whispered at him but he had already gone through the door way so she quickly followed him inside.

"Well this was to be expected," I sighed, "He suspected that they would sneak in…I should have asked for more."

Their boss hadn't just paid me for the defense of the wain but knew that they would more than likely attempt to sneak in to the party and I was being paid to babysit them. It was a good thing that I had business with someone here. So I followed them up the stairs where I paused and took a deep breath before stepping into the blinding light of the castle.

Here ends: Chapter 1-A simple Job!? This story is based on one of my favorite RPG's White Knight Chronicles. The story shall be changed to what could have happened if the player's avatar character had been more integral to the story instead of just being along for the ride. Thank you for reading this. The next chapter is called Party Crashers. White Knight Chronicles is owned by Level 5.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2-Party Crashers!?

"Wow!" Yulie practically shouted, "This place is huge!"

"Damn it," I hissed, "Do you want to get us caught?"

"No but-," She began.

"Then shut up," I snarled, "If we get caught here then we'll get to admire how well the stones in the dungeon fit together."

"You're such a meanie," she said sticking her tongue out at me.

"Yulie, he's right," Ginger sighed, "We don't want to get arrested."

"I can't believe your siding with him Leonard!" Yulie shouted.

"Look both Ginger and I agree," I whispered, "You need to shut your mouth."

"Hmph, fine," Yulie pouted.

We were walking around the outer edge when I saw something I couldn't believe. A Farian in white Yggdra guard armor, his sword sheathed at his side, and a bow on his back.

"Look can you two stay out of trouble for a couple of minutes?" I inquired.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Ginger questioned me a gleam of curiousness in his eye.

"None of your damn business," I snarled, "and stay out of trouble."

"Yes sir," Yulie said in a mocking tone, "Jackass."

I heard the insult she hurled at me but I couldn't care less at the moment because I had something much more important on my mind. As I approached the Farian I noticed he was talking to two Farian heavy soldiers equipped with a shield and spear.

"Farlend," I called out to him.

"Hmmm," was the only sound he made as he turned around, "Eddoe…is that you?"

"It's good to see you Farlend," I laughed genuinely extending my hand.

"It's been to long Eddoe," Farlend grinned shaking my hand, "You should've kept in contact with us…we missed you."

"What did you miss about me?" I inquired jokingly, "my sparkling personality or the fact that without me you haven't had a landslide win in years."

"Well if you're going to be a smartass about it I guess won't tell you," He chuckled.

"Fine," I said feigning hurt, "So tell me where's the Archduke?"

"He's upstairs," Farlend answered, "He'll be glad to see you after all these years."

I said my goodbyes to Farlend and headed up the stairs to meet with the Archduke. When I arrived in the box I found there were no guards which I found odd but then again the Archduke was a very skilled fighter. I saw him wearing ornate yellow and green robes, an extravagant headdress, and green face tattoos.

"It's been a while Archduke," I stated with a slight bow.

"…Young Eddoe…it is good to see you," The Archduke said with a bright look in his eyes.

"You look good," I said smiling, "I mean it's been what ten years since we last saw each other, Archduke?"

"Please child call me Dalem," The Archduke said, "I've known you since you were a small boy."

"It's not proper sir," I told him, "I've not been in Faria for ten years."

"It does not matter," Dalem stated, "I consider you family…even though many would see you as a traitor."

"Let them say what they will," I sighed, "I've got to pay for my crimes."

"You're not responsible for her death," He tried to comfort me.

"If I hadn't attempted to break in she would still be alive." I stated having trouble keeping the anger out of my voice, "and you wouldn't have had to give up so much to secure my life."

"You don't know that," He stated calmly, "anyone with enough determination could breach the castles defenses…you are proof of that."

"I may not have put the sword in her," I practically shouted, "But I'm the reason she's dead, the reason why a little girl has no mother, why a nation is deprived of a leader, and a man of his wife!"

"I know it hurts," The Archduke tried to comfort me, "but it is but a scar…one of many you must bear now…don't let these destroy all the good you've done."

"What good?" I inquired, "I've killed hundreds if not thousands…and not all of them were on a battlefield."

"I've heard about what you've done," the Archduke sighed, "but many people have killed but you've killed in self-defense or trying to clear your conscience."

"So you've been spying on me," I snarled.

"Yes," He answered simply, "but only because I've worried about you and what you were doing."

"I've taken cases of rebels guaranteed to lose," I barked, "people who've had their possessions stolen, and many other things."

"How long are you going to sacrifice your life?" the Archduke questioned, "Are you going to continue this till you're nothing but a husk."

"What I do with my life is my business," I told him, "and you've no say in how I act or handle it."

"…I know," he sighed catching me completely of guard, "You're no longer the little boy I brought into Faria and showed that there was still good in the world."

"…I'm sorry…Dalem," I apologized, "It's just I've carried this guilt with me for the last ten years and it's done nothing but eat away at me."

"I understand…better than most," Dalem sighed.

"I bet," I laughed.

"I sent you, a young boy into a hostile city with orders to capture her and put an end to the conflict," Dalem sighed looking considerably older, "but all that came from this was more conflict and I lost you to the very thing I tried to protect you from."

"I know Dalem," I told him, "but I was wondering if you could tell me what's going on in Faria nowadays?"

"Not much has changed since you left," Dalem sighed, "Some want peace with Balandor while others want only war."

"You can only make war for so long," I commented leaning against the balcony railing, "before you destroy everything you are."

"I wish you would have stayed," Dalem stated smiling, "You would have made a good leader."

"The people would never allow a human take a place of power within their government," I laughed.

"I know," Dalem laughed with me, "but maybe in a future where people are not so blind you can be the leader you're meant to be."

"A future without racial prejudice," I chuckled, "That, Dalem is nothing but a pipedream."

"I know what you are capable of," Dalem told me, "You are the last one who can unite your people from the scattered vestiges of the fallen."

"I'm not the leader my people deserve," I sighed despondently.

"No you are not the leader they deserve," Dalem comforted, "but you are the leader they need…a warrior to reunite the people and reclaim your homeland."

"I'm no use to anyone," I stated with no emotion, "not till I cleanse myself of my crimes."

"Punishing yourself for another's crime won't solve anything," Dalem sighed.

"I don't care what it solves," I stated trying to hold back tears, "They deserve to know my involvement in her death."

"You'll be executed," Dalem stated, "and what will that gain the world…nothing but sorrow."

"I see no other way," I stated, "to cleanse myself of these crimes…Dalem I'm ready to live with my descion…whether it ends in my death or not."

"Look I know I can't dissuade you," Dalem sighed, "if there's one thing you can be known for its your stubborn resolve to follow any descion you make."

"I guess it's the one thing we have in common," I laughed.

"I agree," Dalem said joining in on my laughter.

I turned to gaze at the crowd of nobles, dancing, laughing, and just enjoying themselves completely oblivious to the dangers of the outside world. I missed this, the calm and comfort of a safe home, warm bed, and good food. I also missed the company, I had friends back in Faria including Dalem's granddaughter who always loved the stories I would tell her about the legends of my homeland.

"She misses you," Dalem sighed.

"Who misses me?" I questioned completely caught off guard.

"Miu," Dalem laughed, "She says she especially misses your stories."

"If I see her again I'll make sure to tell her some of my new ones," I commented lightly.

"She would like that," Dalem said a smile on his face, "She's been so lonely since you disappeared after the incident."

"You're trying to persuade me to come back to Faria with you," I chuckled, "aren't you?"

"It depends," Dalem chuckled, "Is it working."

"If I survive this," I began calmly, "I'll make sure to go to Faria and tell her a couple of my stories."

"It's been wonderful to talk to you again," Dalem told me, "but I sense that you have somewhere else to be."

"Yes," I told him, "Dalem I've had a wonderful time talking with you but I've no more free time to spend."

"You're here on a job aren't you?" Dalem questioned me.

"Yeah," I answered, "I'm protecting a couple of teen from getting themselves thrown into the dungeon."

"I understand," Dalem told me nodding, "go and do your job but I would like you to come and see me after this event…we have much to talk about."

I nodded and walked down the stairs leaving the balcony and reentering the main hall, getting a nod from Farlend as I strode across the hall to were both Ginger and Yulie where talking to each other about the princess who had only appeared moments ago. As I approached I caught their conversation.

"…Faria attacked Balandor?" Yulie questioned Ginger not noticing I was there.

"I don't remember much," Ginger stated, "But yeah I remember enough."

"Well you see Faria had a plan kill the royal family and force an end to the war," Yulie continued, "but their armies would have to siege the city for weeks before the gates would ever collapse but they only sieged the city for three days before the gates were penetrated."

"So wait are you saying," Ginger asked paling, "that someone with in the city opened the gate for the Farian army?"

"Yeah," Yulie said shaking her head, "It's also suspected that this man penetrated the defenses of the castle and assassinated the queen right in front of the Princess."

"She saw that?" Ginger asked staring at the princess.

"Yeah," Yulie said with a sigh, "She hasn't said a word since."

"An experience like that will do that to a person," I said revealing myself.

"Eeeeek," Yulie shrieked, "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough," I told her, "You shouldn't believe all the rumors you hear about the siege."

"Oh and how would you know what happened?" She questioned suspiciously.

"I was there," I told her resting my hand on the hilt of my sword, "and I saw firsthand how the Farians got in."

"How did they get in then?" Yulie inquired the look of suspicion never leaving her eyes.

"That is a story for another time," I began when all of a sudden there were gasps from the floor below us, "Something's happening below us."

As we all turned I saw a wounded soldier stumbling towards the king saying something that I barely heard and they were words I did not want to hear… "_We're under attack_".

"What's going on?" Yulie questioned as there was panicked shouts all around us.

"We're leaving!" I shouted over the roar of fear spreading throughout the crowd of nobles.

"Why what coul-," Ginger began before he was cut off by the deafening explosion rent the air.

"What the hell was that?" Yulie yelled as panic filled screams could be heard all over.

I ran over to the banister and say something that drained the color from my face.

"Shit," I shouted, "It's a Pyrodaemos."

"A what?" Ginger yelled over the shouts and screams.

"A huge monster with a cannon mounted on its back," I answered continuing to look down at the battle unfurling below me as soldiers were accompanying this monster and then I recognized the enemy soldiers and felt my anger rise, "You two have to go now."

"But why?" Yulie inquired again showing her defiance, "We can help!"

"No, you two will leave now," I turned to emphasize my point when I realized someone was missing, "Where the hell is Ginger!?"

"What…Leonard!" She called out to him, "Damn it Leonard where did you go?"

"Look you get out of here I'll go find him," I said pointing and turning towards the upper exit we had entered from only to see Magi flooding through the door, "Shit…can nothing go right today."

"I guess not Yulie said drawing her bow as I drew my broadsword.

"Let's just end this quickly," I shouted charging the Magi soldiers.

As my charge caught them unprepared I was able to easily cut a couple of them down easily the next few had turned their drawn swords on me and raised their shields but this would not halt me I easily sidestepped their sloppy thrusts and used my greater strength to cleave through the first soldiers shield and body. Before his two halves had even hit the floor I had already pierced the second soldier's chest with my blade but as I pulled it out I felt something was wrong with it. I turned towards the final soldier and swung aiming for his neck hoping to remove his head from his shoulders but he blocked it with his own sword and that's when I heard the crack and saw the greater part of my blade go spiraling over the banister. With only the hilt left of my sword I knew I had to reach for my magic and as I prepared my spell an arrow appeared in the soldier's forehead. I turned to see it was Yulie who had fired the arrow with pinpoint accuracy. **_Maybe I've underestimated her and her abilities. _**I walked towards her and extended my hand.

"I owe you my thanks," I said.

"Don't expect me to shake hands with you after you've been such an ass," She glared at me.

"I didn't expect you to," I told her, "But I just thought you should know."

I turned away and begun walking towards the door when all of a suddenly I heard it. The sound of heavy metal footsteps and then it appeared through the doorway. It looked pretty much like a troll covered in thick black metal plates armed with a giant cruel looking cleaver.

"What the hell is that?!" Yulie shouted panicking.

"It's called a Black Knave," I shouted back tossing aside my sword hilt and drawing my War Fan, "It's a Magi weapon…I don't know how the construct them but they're much stronger than any troll."

"So how do we beat it?" Yulie inquired blanching considerably.

"You leave that to me!" I yelled over the battle continuing to rage below us, "Burn in the fire of retribution!"

When I yelled this I raised my fan pointing the tip at the black knave which when the spell activated caused a bird made entirely out of flame to come roaring out of the fan and fly head on at the monster which when it struck it did not seem to cause any harm. Then fire began bursting from every crack and crevice in the armor as it was being burned from the inside out and then it burst completely into flame. Its weapon had now melted into molten slag so I decided to end it. Waving my fan I summoned a huge gust of wind throwing it off the balcony where it crashed into the combatants on the floor below.

"That was incred-," She began before I cut her off.

"We don't have time," I snarled at her, "You need to get out of here now."

"But wha-," She began again.

"Get out of here now," I snarled turning and running away from the exit, "Ginger will be fine."

I wasn't about to waste my time looking for Ginger when I knew that someone else was endanger. **_Dalem don't you dare die on me…don't you dare die!_** I was sprinting towards the stairs that led to the Archduke's balcony where both guards lay dead. **_Shit…no,no,no,no. This can't be happening; he's got to be alive! _**I ran up the stairs two at a time and when I arrived I felt the air leave my lungs. There lay Archduke Dalem a dagger protruding from his chest. I gazed at the door on the other side of the room and saw a midget in strange attire running down the stairs accompanied by Magi soldiers. I ignored them and ran to the Archduke's side.

"Dalem," I whispered as I kneeled next to him.

"Eddoe…it's good to see you," Dalem wheezed.

"I'll get you a healer," I whispered, "We can save you."

"Don't…worry Eddoe," Dalem wheezed on, "Death is a…natural part of…life."

"But there's so much I wanted to tell you," I told him the tears welling in my eyes, "I wanted to explain myself…to apologize for my arrogance."

"Eddoe…it doesn't matter," Dalem whispered, "I forgave you…long ago."

"Dalem, I'm so sorry," The tears now freely falling from my eyes, "I'm sorry I failed you."

"Promise me…something," Dalem wheezed, "Promise me…that you…will go and…protect Miu."

"I promise you Dalem," I whispered, "I will give my life to defend her."

"Good…she is…the future of Faria," Dalem said the light beginning to fade from his life, "It is…good to know…that she has such…a powerful guardian."

His final words were directed to me, I saw the light finally leave his eyes, and felt the world around me shatter. **_I've lost him…I'm alone now…Please let this be a horrible dream, please let this not be happening. _**I stood up hiding my fan again within my armor and drawing my father's sword Radiance and heading down the stairs where I bumped into a Balandor captain.

"Who the hell are you," He shouted.

"Get the fuck out of my way," I hissed shoving him out of my way.

"How dare you!" The captain shouted moving to draw his sword.

"Stay out of my way or you'll meet the same fate as the Magi," I snarled bringing my sword to his throat, "I will kill all who dare impede my vengeance."

"What are you talking about?" the captain shouted.

"The Magi have killed the Archduke," I hissed, my blade still pressed against my throat, "They must pay for their crimes."

With this I removed my sword from his throat and continued down the stairs till I reached the Main hall where the Magi had become firmly entrenched. I stepped down the stairs where I saw the numerous corpses of fallen Magi and Balandor soldiers. As I reached the entrance area several Magi soldiers attacked me. I side stepped the first and brought my sword slashing through his helm, the second thrust at me with his spear which I caught and tore from his grip only to impale him through the chest with it, a third soldier used this time to attempt to flank me only to fall feeling the bite of my sword in his neck, and the fourth did something I didn't expect.

"Please, show mercy," He begged falling to his knees and throwing his weapons aside, "Please I beg you show mercy.

"There is no place for mercy in this world," I whispered the venom practically dripping from my voice.

"No you can't," He wailed as I brought my blade back to end him.

As my blade ripped across his chest the blood gushing from his wounds I felt a sick kind of glee rush through me that can only come from slacking the thirst of vengeance. The vengeance I had been denied fourteen years. I heard the tramping of boots as more Magi soldiers rushed into the castle and they had made the mistake of marching in a tight formation.

"Watch as the wrath of the apocalypse ends your pathetic lives!" I roared unleashing the Apocalypse spell.

As the spell took effect a purple glyph appeared on the floor where the Magi stood and soon they were lifted off of the ground by purple spires of energy and soon after this an explosion rent the air as the spell overloaded itself killing all the Magi soldiers caught in the spell and raining their pieces all over the room.

"My families radiance shall shine throughout the ages," I shouted to what I thought was an empty room.

"Aren't you powerful," A deep voice sounded behind me.

"Are you here to die as well?" I inquired the bloodlust clearly apparent and turning around to see a man clad in black armor with a black Farian sabre clutched in his hand.

"My name is Dragias," he told me, "and my master is looking for people with your kind of power."

"Go to hell," I snarled, "you Magi trash."

"Pity," He sighed, "and you seemed like such a smart young man."

With that he lunged at me his blade aiming for my heart which I promptly halted by knocking his strike aside with my own. **_He'll need to better than that poor strike to beat me. _**I kicked him in the gut causing him to back up a couple steps so I could back step and put some distance between us. I brought my sword up in a defensive stance knowing that this would be a long battle as my enemy was no longer the fodder I'd been slaying but a trained officer, the legendary Dragias. He ran at me again his blade thrusting at me recklessly and without much precision but he had enough skill to block my own counterattacks. **_What the Hell…he's toying with me…what the hell does he want!_** I was getting angry that this man didn't take me serious and that was a mistake. He struck without warning piercing my armor with one thrust to my left side and quickly withdrawing it allowing the wound to bleed freely. **_Damn it…damn it…I refuse to die here…at this beasts hands!_** The pain cleared my anger and my head allowing me to focus clearly on my enemy. He had no noticeable physical flaws I could exploit nor was there any mental instability I could detect and exploit. **_Who the hell is this guy…There's no flaws I can detect…but there's got to be something. _**I could only think of one thing to do in this situation, throw everything I could muster at him. I ignored the pain in my side and feigned a slash at his leg only to redirect it towards his sword arm where it connected cutting through his armor and drawing blood.

"Ahh," He snarled, "You've proven that you can handle a blade well and might even beat me in a one on one duel…a pity it's not one on one."

As he said this Magi soldiers who had been waiting out of sight to spring the trap on me. **_Shit there's too many of them to handle on my own._**

"How does it feel," Dragias taunted knocking me to the ground, "How does it feel to know that you're all alone in the world."

As Dragias stood there laughing I felt disgusted with myself, I've been so driven by vengeance that I've lost sight what's important.

"Like a phoenix I shall rise from the ashes to strike you down Dragias," I taunted right back getting to a knee.

"What is that supposed to mean?" He snarled at me.

"I've survived the fall of my homeland, the siege of Balandor, and so much more," I taunted, "What are you but a puppet to the will of your master."

"You are nothing but swine," Dragias snarled approaching me with his sword slamming down into mine as I blocked and then his soldiers began screaming, "What?"

White feather arrows were sticking out of the Magi soldier's necks and bodies.

"For Faria," A familiar voice behind me shouted.

"You see unlike you Dragias I've real allies who are willing to fight," I snarled forcing myself up from my prone kneeling stance, "You can kill me but others will rise up to fight your ilk."

"You will die like your kingdom," He snarled at me.

"For Valeria!" I roared the name of my homeland proud that if I should die now I shall do so fighting for my true homeland.

I had gotten to my feet and forced him back only for him to charge at me again. Our blades crashed against each other along with the opposing forces of Farian heavy soldiers and Magi warriors. I noted that the Farians were led by Farlend his normally white armor stained red with the blood of the enemy. **_I'm no longer alone…I'll accomplish Dalem's dying wish and protect Faria and Lady Miu…The Magi will not burn another land as they did my beloved Valeria…I'll destroy all who will harm Faria or its people. _**My attacks struck with a force unknown even to me, I smashed aside his defenses as if they were simply no even there, and I buried my blade into his left side.

"This is the power of my resolve Dragias," I snarled as our blades locked together again, "and I will see you fall for the crimes against my homeland and for your crimes against Faria!"

He snarled at me as he spun away from our lock trying to gain distance on me which was one of the worst decisions he could make as the Farians outnumbered the Magi so the twang of Farian style longbows was not a surprising sound and the arrows struck right on target. Three arrows protruded from his back causing him to stumble and allowing me to easily close the distance. He whipped around catching my attack on his own blade. **_He's strong to fight through the wounds I've given him…wait…he's limping…jackpot damn it, jackpot. _**Another arrow was protruding from his right leg and I used this to my advantage striking at his right side and attempting to cripple him. His moves were becoming sluggish while mine remained quick and powerful, I battered his feeble defense I aside and struck his knee at the space for the joint in the armor cutting through the flesh and crippling him. **_He existed at the fall of Valeria…He has to be getting up there in age._**

"Do you think you can stop the Magi," He laughed, "We are the insurmountable wave that will wash away the filth of the world!"

"Why don't you just die already damn it," I sneered at Dragias raising my blade for the killing blow as he was on his knees.

I was bringing my blade down when the very floor began shaking throwing me off balance and allowing Dragias to take of running which was an amazing feat. **_How the hell can he still run…scratch that what the hell is causing this shaking._** As I stood there trying to keep from falling on my face which was difficult with the floor covered in fresh blood which was both mine and my enemies. I looked around and saw Magi fleeing left and right as the Farians tried to drag their wounded to the side out of the main floor and as I attempted to make my way I felt a sharp pain in my leg bringing me down again and so I looked and saw an arrow sticking out of my knee.

"Eddoe!" Farlend shouted running towards only to stumble as the shaking grew worse.

"Farlend stay back," I screamed afraid that my friend would get hurt.

Then the unexpected happened, the spot where I knelt, erupted sending shards of stone and me flying. I flew a good twenty feet where I crashed into the banister and flipped onto the stairs. I lay there in pain hearing the fight going on just yards from me. I forced myself to stand through sheer will and saw something that took my breath away. **_Holy Shit…it's an Incorruptus. _**I tried to continue to stand but my knee gave out on me. That's when I looked over and saw Farlend running towards me. As he approached he knelt down and examined my wound.

"How are you doing?" Farlend questioned as he removed the arrow and began healing my leg.

"Oh I don't know," I said sarcastically, "I've only been stabbed in my side, shot in the leg, and oh yeah I've been caught in a shower of razor sharp rock…so I've been better."

"Look I can heal your leg now but we need to get you to a healer," He stated worriedly.

"I'll be fine," I snarled through the pain in my side, "We need to keep up with that huge walking suit of armor."

That was when the Pyrodaemos was thrown through the front gates and was quickly followed by the white Incorruptus. As I sprung to my feet I took off after them followed by Farlend, several Farian archers, Balandor Knights, the guard captain from earlier, an older man in green, and Yulie. **_Damn it what is she doing here…well I didn't expect her to abandon Ginger. _**I was the first out of the now ruined gate and stood there gazing at the white Incorruptus fighting with its blade.

"What the hell is that?" Farlend yelled.

"It's an Incorruptus," I answered, "an ancient weapon of The Dogma Wars."

"Hmm," came a sound from the older man in green.

"Is it on our side," the captain said.

"It depends," I answered, "Who's in the armor."

"It's Leonard," Yulie said running up to me.

"You're telling me that's Ginger?" I asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Yulie said the fear clearly in her eyes, "Will he be alright?"

"If that thing doesn't kill him then he should be fine," I answered this new question, "That thing is just a Pyrodaemos…it may look big but it's weaker than it should be."

"How do you know that," the guard captain snarled at me.

"If it had been at full strength we would've been dead in seconds," I told him, "and that would have been after it incinerated the city."

"You seem to know a lot about this creature," the older man commented.

"I've seen them before," I said remembering the fires, "When at full power they can turn even a stone fortress to nothing but ash in a matter of seconds."

"I'll take your word for it," the man said.

"You'd better," I sneered, "I've been through more in a decade than most people go through in their whole lives."

We stood there watching the battle as Leonard and the Pyrodaemos exchanged blows. **_How the hell is Ginger controlling an Incorruptus…they only obey a chosen few and those few have been dead for thousands of years. It's one of the old ones too._**

"Hey Ginger," I shouted as I saw the barrel begin glowing.

"What?" sounded the echoed voice of a person in an Incorruptus.

"You've got to stop it from firing that cannon," I yelled.

"How do I do that?" He yelled back.

"You need to focus on your energy," I yelled over the battle, "and then focus it into your blade."

The Incorruptus paused a moment and then its blade began glowing with a blinding white light.

"Now what?" He questioned me.

"Now you attack the thing damn it," I snarled not believing that this kid was holding one of the most dangerous powers in the world and had to ask such a question.

As he struck there was a flash knocking the monster off balance where Ginger quickly followed up with a couple of quick thrusts felling the weakened monster easily and then he knelt down as a light enveloped the Incorruptus where it was replaced by Ginger himself. As some of the people ran towards Ginger to congratulate or question him, I on the other hand remained on the stairs with the Farians, and the guard captain noticed this but ignored it. I just stood there staring at the kid, this kid had achieved what my people never could, and that was the ability to bond with an Incorruptus. **_This isn't possible…how can he have gained the strength to overpower the arks guardian…he has trouble fighting kibble and polkan so where did this strength come from…I need to keep an eye on this kid. _**I was torn from my thoughts by the piercing scream of a woman. I whipped around to see the wounded black knight holding the princess with her hands bound behind her back. The Balandor soldiers moved to try and grab her while the Farian longbowmen did not move knowing it was futile to even attempt it and they were much more disciplined than the Balandor soldiers. As the soldiers closed in a giant anchor came crashing down crushing or scattering the approaching soldiers and as it rose there was the wounded Dragias, the midget clown person, and the bound princess standing on one of the arms.

"Cisna," Ginger yelled standing up and running up the steps.

The Farian archers raised their bow to fire as I yelled, "Hold your fire!"

The archers still had their bows drawn but didn't fire, they had trained their arrows on Dragias and the midget but they wouldn't fire unless instructed. I haven't been in Faria for a while but apparently I still held some sway over the soldiers. As they rose higher I noted that they were getting on a black monoship.

"Why didn't you fire on them!?" The Balandor guard captain screamed at me, "Farian archers are the best the world!"

"It's still too risky," I retorted my hand on my side trying to contain the bleeding, "If we shoot there's still a good chance we'll hit the princess and there's no one here in good enough condition to catch her if she falls."

The guard captain fell silent glaring at me now apparently taking in the fact that I had some control over the Farian soldiers. As we stood there staring each other down but we were soon interrupted by Ginger chasing after the departing Monoship.

"We have to go after her!" Ginger yelled, "We have to do something!"

"And what would you propose we do Ginger," I laughed, "We've no idea where their taking her."

"So you're saying we do nothing!" He yelled at me turning, "That we just sit here and twiddle our thumbs!"

"Pretty much," I continued unable to contain my laughter.

"Quit laughing you son of a bitch," He snarled at me.

"And what if I don't Leonard?" I asked the laughter continuing, "Are you going to attack me?"

"Shut up," He snarled his anger apparent.

"No," I said the laughter vanishing from my face, "You're an insignificant speck in this world and the same goes for your dear princess."

I was attempting to goad him now, I was sick and tired of his pampered attitude, and I was planning on putting him in his place.

"You son of a bitch," He yelled his sword drawn and raised over his head.

I simply grabbed his arm with my non-bloodied hand, flipped him over my shoulder while twisting his wrist so that it dislocated, when he hit the ground I wrenched his arm viscously so his shoulder dislocated, and then drove my heel into his elbow joint also dislocating that. He wreathed in pain as he glared at me simple hatred in his eyes.

"You've just been crippled," I snarled, "by a man who's just fought through one of the most trying battles of his life."

"Leonard!" Yulie yelled running towards us but with a slight gesture the Farian soldiers barred her path, "Get out of my way you Antler headed creeps."

"You'll have to do more than that to insult us miss," Farlend told her, "He wishes to explain to your foolish companion that heart alone will not save the princess."

"He's right Ginger," I laughed, "I'm bloodied, exhausted, and don't possess an Incorruptus."

"What does that have to do with anything?" He snarled getting up while favoring his arm.

"You need to know that just because you've all this power you're not invincible," I answered a gleam in my eyes, "and if you die think of all the people you'll leave behind."

"The princes-," He started to say.

"Look, if you die you lose her, Yulie, your friends, and everyone who values you," I snarled right back, "and besides if you die your princess loses the best chance of rescue."

"I just want to make sure she's safe." He said quietly.

"You just met her what an hour ago?" I sighed, "but if you want to go off halfcocked then at least wait until morning."

With that I walked back into the castle with the Farian soldiers following after me sort of like a set of bodyguards. I was walking towards the upper level where Dalem's body would be so it could be given rights but first I needed something's.

"Can someone get me a healer?" I inquired, "And could someone also look for my sword."

**_I'm going to need new armor damn it…and I doubt that Balandor readily sells a Master Lorica. _**I needed a healer before I bleed out all over the nice palace floors and I'd lost my sword when Ginger erupted from underneath the floor. The new armor was needed because I doubted that mine could be repaired with all of the damage it suffered. I was walking up the steps gazing at all of the wanton destruction and remembering the last time I had gazed upon so much death which was a decade earlier. I'd never wanted to relive that kind of carnage but apparently fate had different plans for me. I had made a promise to protect Lady Miu and would accomplish this no matter the cost but I also knew that they kidnapped the princess for a reason, this was not my first dance with the Magi after all, and I was sure it wouldn't be the last. I knew that Ginger would go after her and I knew I would be right there with him. This was the perfect chance to gain precious resources for my true mission and I could not pass up this opportunity. I found Dalem's body and knelt next to it and began reciting the rituals to pass his spirit on into the ether where he could rest in peace and I knew I was in for a long night.

Chapter 2-Party Crashers!? Ends here and I hope you've all enjoyed the trip as the next chapter is titled The Journey Begins. I hope you all continue to read, review, and enjoy the story. White Knight is owned by Level 5 productions. Some events may be different from the actual game and whenever an important new character is added I'll create a new character page. The Nation of Valeria will be very important to this fanfiction later on. Valeria is pronounced _Vale_-_re_-_a._


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3-The Adventure Begins!

I was standing in the throne leaning against a pillar attempting to stay out of the main conversation between Ginger & company, the old man who I learned was named Eldore, the guard captain from the battle, and the royal counselor. The main topic was how should they set about rescuing the princess but all I really cared about was the man who lay in the casket with the green banner over it…I would miss him. I was wearing the remains of my Master's Lorica, my father's sword Radiance leaned against the pillar, and I had my side bandaged due to the wounds I suffered from the battle.

"Leonard's not part of the army," Yulie shouted, "You've no right to tell him to do this."

"It's all right Yulie," Ginger told her, "I'll do it."

"What, are you crazy Leonard?" Yulie yelled shocked.

"Excellent," the counselor cheered as he clapped his hands together.

"Sarvain are you mad?" The captain inquired, "He is but a boy."

"He possesses the Knight," Sarvain told the captain, "He's the best hope we have of rescuing the princess Sir Cyrus."

The captain grudgingly agreed with this and the debate continued with me again quickly dismissing it as I turned my attention back to the casket. I did catch bits and pieces of the conversation…both Yulie and Eldore agreed to accompany Ginger on his journey.

"What about you young man?" Sarvain asked turning towards me, "are you going to accompany them."

"That depends," I stated wondering how much I could earn, "are you willing to pay my fee."

"You scum," Sir Cyrus snarled, "You'd dare to ask for money to see the princess returned…do you have no honor."

"He's a mercenary Sir Cyrus," Sarvain sighed, "His only loyalty is to the person who can pay him…what is your price?"

"Fifty thousand now," I answered, "and another fifty thousand when I get back."

"One hundred thousand gold pieces," Cyrus roared, "That's outrage-."

"Agreed," Sarvain said.

"Sarvain no sellsword is worth that much," Cyrus cried out in shock.

"Sir Cyrus this man is the legendary mercenary Phoenix," Sarvain stated.

"This boy is the legendary Phoenix," Cyrus stated with utter disdain, "I doubt that this whelp is him."

In the blink of an eye I had my war fan out and pointed it at him a sneer on my face.

"I was fighting in battles before you even knew how to use a blade," I snarled.

"Do you think you'll intimidate me," Cyrus hissed drawing his own blade.

"Sir Cyrus control yourself," Sarvain pleaded, "We're all on the same side after all."

"His loyalty is to nothing but gold," Cyrus snarled, "Who's to say that the Magi won't buy him later!"

I lost it then and there, I charged Cyrus and before he could even lift his sword to defend himself I had him held in the air by his throat.

"Don't you ever accuse me of that," I roared the rage evident in my voice, "While your warmongering king sat and plotted the destruction of my people, while he sat and cowered with in this city until Faria was at his very gates, and while he ordered his forces to abandon us when the Magi burned my homeland…Your king was nothing but a sniveling backstabber who dreamed of conquest but did not have the strength to do it."

As everyone stared at me I dropped Cyrus began to storm down the stair.

"I expect the money to be delivered to me before I leave the city," I hissed continuing my storming.

I burst out into the open air of the courtyard and I stopped to examine my surroundings. **There's so little battle damage…it's almost as if they didn't want to damage the city…What the hell is going on…They didn't show my people any mercy…Why…Why does this have to happen? **I knew that I'd need to gather the last bits of my equipment so I set off for Rappci's Winery where my chest was still. I walked through the city streets noting that there was little panic so I doubted that news of the princess's kidnapping had spread beyond the castle itself…which was disturbing. **I know it would spread chaos but to completely silence witnesses would require more than money it would require death…something is wrong in this city. **I was approaching Rappci's when I saw an old face standing between the buildings.

"I hope you're not going to war in those rages," Farlend laughed, "I mean you've not looked this bad since Dalem brought you to the capital as a small boy."

"I know I've looked better," I smiled glad to be with a friend, "but I've never faced such a dangerous opponent."

"Well I've some things that the Archduke wanted you to have and so you don't look so shabby," Farlend stated gesturing to a crate behind him.

"What's in it?" I inquired approaching the crate.

"It's what you left behind," He told me the grin vanishing, "…They miss you."

I opened the crate to reveal black heavy Farian armor that is embossed in gold, a modified black Farian heavy helm that instead of the antler holes had a rope of white wolf hair that extended about two feet from the top, and a Farian sabre.

"It's a Gallant Sabre," I whispered in awe picking it up, "These are only given to the most valiant of Farian heroes."

"Dalem would have wanted you to have it," Farlend told me, "You've done more for Faria than any native Farian has in the last century…normally there would be a huge celebration but given the circumstances…"

"I understand," I told him sighing, "but don't expect me to go back to them even if I wear the armor."

"I know," He stated, "but they will always be waiting for their captain…but I digress I must go and attend to our lord."  
"I know," I sighed, "but tell them that they will see me again."

"I will," He whispered the smile returning, "but make sure you don't make me a liar."

With those last words Farlend strode off for the palace to begin escorting Dalem's body back to Faria. I looked back into the crate seeing the armor that I'd forsaken years ago and I picked it up and headed into Rappci's to change and gather my equipment.

-**Half an hour later-**

I strode back into the main room my armor rustling softly. **The Farians can really craft a fine set of armor…I'm glad that hasn't changed. **The armor was as comfortable as I remembered it to be and the sabre sat strapped my back as I now had my dual Katanas strapped to my left hip samurai style and my war fan strapped to my right hip. The helmet rested upon my head shadowing my eyes and I knew I looked intimidating.  
"You're looking good," Rappci complimented, "I'd say that armor suits you."

"Thank you," I told him, "I've not worn this type of armor in about a decade."

"Oh I just remembered," Rappci told me taking out a small pouch of gold, "Here's your payment for watching over Leonard…there's a little extra because of the problems you faced."

I nodded extending my hand to take the pouch of coins when a shout ripped through the rooms.

"What the hell," Ginger's voice screeched, "How in the hell did a Blitz Guard get here?"

I turned around and glared at Ginger whose next retort died in his throat as he saw it was me.

"What are you doing here?" Yulie inquired glaring at me.

"I'm here to collect my payment for keeping an eye on you two last night," I shot back growing tired of all these dumb questions.

I took the payment and began heading for the exit of the winery before I was stopped by Eldore.

"Where should we meet you after we're done here?" He inquired.

"Meet me at the gate leading to the Greydal plains," I answered, "I'll be there in about a half hour."  
With that I walked out into the day light drawing many stares from people walking about their business. **I know it's not every day that you see a man dressed in the combat attire of the Blitz Guard…god I really do miss those fools. **I was walking to the apothecary where I would buy reagents to mix my own healing items such as salves and poultices and where I could buy healing potions mainly for my companions on this quest as I knew they were nowhere near my level of power or skill. I spent most of the money I earned from my job for Rappci so I went to wait near the eastern gate leading to Greydal plains. When I arrived there were several Balandor soldiers there guarding a couple chests I knew were full of my payment.

"I pray that all of my payment is there," I stated.

"Yes it is sir," the captain answered.

"Then you are dismissed," I told them.

They dispersed and I set about storing my money into a pouch that had been enchanted to hold nearly infinite amounts of money and though it was already bulging with wealth it easily held all fifty thousand of the gold pieces I'd already been paid bring the grand total of my wealth to about two million five hundred fifty thousand. **I've enough to raise an army but not enough to rebuild my kingdom…my home. **I stood there waiting another fifteen minutes before Ginger & company came strolling out, Eldore still in his original attire, Ginger wearing Copper armor, and Yulie wearing chainmail armor. They approached me talking among themselves and I hoped they were coming up with a plan.

"I pray you've come up with a plan," I drawled, "Otherwise this will be a very short mission."

"Our plan is to rescue the princess," Ginger snarled.

"I wasn't talking to you Ginger," I hissed, "You may be the leader of this band of misfits but Eldore is a much better choice for strategist than you."

Ginger glared at me and stormed through the gates towards Greydal plains with Yulie tearing after him.

"I bet you fifty gold that the boy gets himself knocked out before we even get through Nordia," I told Eldore.

"I'll take that bet," Eldore chortled.

"We'd better catch up to the kids," I sighed, "Before they get themselves hurt."

Eldore and I left to catch up to Ginger and Yulie before they got themselves killed by who knows what. When we caught up to them Ginger was still fuming as Yulie tried to calm him down. They were now just outside the gates to Greydal plains.

"So what's the plan?" Ginger inquired glaring at me.

"Both Eldore and I agree we should make for the Nordia tunnels," I told him sounding utterly bored while in all reality I was excited by the prospect of fighting the Magi.

"What about the beasts of Greydal plains?" Yulie inquired the discomfort evident in her voice.

"I've traveled through the Greydal before and the worst you've got to watch out for our Sylvan Trolls," I told her, "there's also trents but you can just walk by them if you don't get to close…they have horrible eyesight."

"Whatever," Ginger growled, "Let's just get going."  
Ginger took off running dragging both Yulie and Eldore with him and leaving me behind at the gate sighing. **His impatience is endangering not only himself but his companions…Why doesn't he grow a goddamn brain in his skull. **I took off after them and as they were a couple of minutes ahead of me I could no longer see them and I only hoped that they were alright. I had drawn sabre and began my advance through the Greydal Plains. As I ran through the plains I heard growling and snarling behind me and so I turned to see a several boars advancing on me recklessly. I halted and turned to engage the monsters as they charged me. The first I turned his own momentum against him and allowed him to pass right by me and carry himself over the cliff to his doom, a second charged me and so I simply cleaved him into two halves his own charge making that easier, the third attempted to maul me but was too slow as I brought my sabre down upon its neck severing the head from its body, while I was doing this a fourth had circled around to strike at my side which I blocked by severely twisting my torso but in doing so I reopened my wound causing nearly debilitating pain. I looked around and saw I still had five to go as I failed to kill the last one. **I'm not going to die here…I've got too much to do to simply accept this fate. **

"I'm sorry," I huffed through the pain, "but you're going to have to find another meal…Apocalypse!"

I turned and limped away hearing the yowling and the tearing as my spell to affect and began to rip them apart. I reached into my bag and pulled out a healing salve which I began applying to my wound and almost instantly the relief began coursing through my wound as the salve resealed it and increased my natural healing rate. I was soon able to begin running again hoping to catch up to Ginger & company before anything bad happened. My wound was soon fully healed which was something I hadn't wanted to do due to how difficult it is to create Healing salves and how expensive they are to buy. I was now sprinting through the plains ignoring the monsters as they ignored me. I was rounding a bend when I saw two trolls attacking three people one of them lying prone on the ground his ginger hair evident. **Looks like an easy fifty gold for me.** I rushed the first troll cutting it clean in half vertically and before its companion even knew what happened I'd whipped around and cut it in two at its waist before its companion's corpse had even hit the ground.

"What power," Eldore whispered, "No normal man should be that powerful."

"We can talk about how strong he is later," Yulie screamed panicked, "We've got to save Leonard."

"Ginger will be fine," I sighed taking the fifty gold from Eldore, "I'll show you."

I walked over to his prone form, dug my armored toe into his side causing him to yelp in pain, and his eyes shot open.

"That hurt," Ginger said groggily sitting up.

"You're burning daylight Ginger," I sighed, "So unless you want to sleep here get off your ass."

I turned and began walking away as Eldore and Yulie helped him up as he glared at me.

"I just got flattened by a troll," Ginger snarled, "Show some damn sympathy."

"Oh I'm sorry do you want me to bandage your boo-boo," I hissed fed up with his prissy attitude, "Grow the fuck up…You're going to go through things that are much worse than this so either toughen up or go slinking back to Balandor with your tail between your legs now."

He stood there glaring at me the fury evident in his stance and I was about to snap when something unexpected happened.

"He's right Leonard," Yulie sighed, "If we can't handle a couple of trolls what are we going to do against the Magi."

"We've beaten them already," Ginger argued back, "So why shouldn't we be able to beat them again this time."

"You've fought nothing but greenhorns," I sighed, "Their veteran forces can easily decimate over confident punks like you."

"Oh and how in the hell do you know this?" Ginger snarled.

"I've fought the Magi for a decade," I stated uncaring, "and I've seen more death than you'll ever hopefully see in your life."

"So you've killed people big deal," He taunted me.

I walked up to him and back handed him finally reaching my breaking point.

"You're nothing but a fucking child," I snarled, "Have you ever watched the life leave someone's eyes, heard the last rattle of their breath, or felt their body shudder as it shuts down."

Ginger pulled back his arm to punch me only to have his wrist caught by Eldore.

"Leonard control yourself," Eldore warned, "You've just started this adventure and out of all of us Eddoe has the most combat experience."

"What about you Eldore?" Yulie inquired, "You're much older than he is."

"I've fought in battles before," Eldore sighed, "but nothing as large scale as the ones he's fought in."

"Oh and what battles have you fought in?" Ginger barked at me trying to act tough.

"I was participated in the siege of Balandor," I sighed.

"Wait that was a decade ago," Yulie said shocked.

"Yes it was," I answered, "So I was only nine years old but that wasn't the first time I took a life."

With that I turned and walked towards the lakes edge where I stood there just gazing out at the clear water. It reminded me of the lake in my homeland where I used to play as a child. **I…I won't allow the Magi to destroy this land…I will reclaim my homeland…It's my duty as the Last of the line. ** I turned as I heard someone approach me.

"Why are you so hard on Leonard?" Yulie inquired.

"I see all the potential he possesses," I answered, "and he needs to learn now that the world is a dark place where people will stab you in the back without a second thought."

"What happened to you to make you such a pessimist?" Yulie questioned.

"I'm a realist," I answered chuckling, "I attempt to see the world as it truly is rather than as what other's wish."

"But you seem to have such a negative outlook on life," Yulie told me.

"When you've been through as much as I've been through," I stated, "You begin to realize that there is more evil in the world than good."

"How can you say that?" Yulie asked shocked.

"You've never left the area of Balandor," I told her, "When you've seen more of the world you'll understand."

I turned and walked back towards Ginger as Eldore attended to his minor wounds with healing magic. I couldn't risk getting attached to these people after all we were going on a dangerous mission and the odds of survival were against us. I'd lost too many friends already to war and I couldn't stand the thought of losing more friends.

"What do you want?" Ginger questioned angrily.

"I was making sure that you're ready to get moving again," I hissed, "and don't even start whining about the trolls or must we forget what happened to me yesterday."

"He's right Leonard," Yulie sighed walking up to us, "He got nailed by that troll and sent flying into the cart yesterday."

"He's right," Eldore said standing up, "We must be strong and continue on no matter the odds…things will get much more difficult than they are now."

"This means that if you don't pull your weight without your knight," I began smiling wickedly, "I'll tie you up and mail you back to Balandor myself."

**Balandor does have a post service right…I mean I know Faria does but does Balandor. **I stood there noticing that Ginger's glaring expression was dissipating to be replaced by one of nervousness as he rose to his feet.

"Is it finally starting to sink in?" I inquired calmly, "Just how serious this entire situation is?"

"I-I just want to rescue the princess," Ginger sighed the tears forming in his eyes, "I mean what is something happens to her."

"Please don't start crying," I sighed exasperated, "and besides they wouldn't take the princess alive just to kill her…They must need her for something."

"Do you have any ideas?" Eldore inquired, "After all it seems you have more experience with the Magi than we do."

"It's true I've fought the Magi for years," I answered with a sigh, "but as far I know they've never kidnapped royalty."

"Then how do you know they won't kill the princess," Ginger shouted in a panic.

"Though I'm loath to admit it they are intelligent people," I assured him, "and to hold the last royal of a nation is alone enough power to bring the nation to its knees."

"That poses a serious threat to Balandor," Eldore commented turning to continue down the path, "So we'd better continue onwards before they completely outdistance us."

We all then began to advance down the path Yulie, Eldore and Ginger talking among themselves about what the Magi could be planning.

"How did you know the Magi are heading for the Nordia tunnels," Yulie inquired.

"It's the only logical descion," I told her, "There is no reason for them to head towards Parma."

"I guess you're right," Yulie sighed.

We continued walking in silence and for some reason the monsters of the plain were nowhere to be seen. I was beginning to grow nervous when I heard something in the distance. It was the footfalls of a large creature.

"Prepare yourselves," I warned, "Something approaches…and it's big."

A strange almost musical cry rent the air as a giant white beast appeared on the cliff above us.

"These animals normally don't attack unless provoked," Eldore commented drawing his Longsword.

"A fight is a fight no matter how distasteful," I told him preparing to draw my sabre.

But before I could the creature jumped off the cliff with the impact of it landing, stumbling everyone and during the confusion it charged at Ginger.

"Move it Ginger," I roared shoving him out of the way and taking the charge myself which wasn't one of my smartest moves.

I was sent flying across the battlefield where hit the lake and went skipping across it like a stone until five skips later I submerged into the water like a stone. As I submerged I noted the beauty of the underwater scenery as I sunk I prayed that those three could hold their own in battle. **Damn it…I suck at swimming…Wait I felt something.** I had felt the water vibrate as I sensed that something approaching so I spun in the water with difficulty and I saw something that made my blood freeze. **What the hell is an Ocean Snake doing in this goddamn lake…I mean it is smaller than normal but still this thing shouldn't be here. **I was looking at a snake like creature except that its head was narrower and it had fin like appendages coming off of its cheeks. I estimated that I could hold my breath for about another thirty seconds if I didn't get hit so I decided I would use only one attack to end this battle before I ran out of oxygen and suffocated. I drew both of my Katanas, floated there as I concentrated, and felt the energy begin to crackle around my body as my physical strength skyrocketed. **This ability took years to master and it will give me only one shot to kill it…damn it why does Demon's Aura have to lower your defense so much. **The snake circled me biding its time which was pissing me off. **20 seconds. **Finally the snake lunged at me from the front which I made no attempt to dodge. **15 seconds. **As it rushed at me I brought my blade cleaving through its neck severing the head completely from its body and as its blood began clouding the water I swam for the surface with all of my strength. **10 seconds.** My vision was beginning to darken at the edges as I emerged from the cloud of blood and I saw the sun glimmering just ten feet above me. **5 seconds… **I was beginning to see red now, my lungs were screaming for oxygen, and my sight was beginning to blur. I was five feet from the surface. **2 seconds**. My vision was going, my lungs were giving out, and I was losing consciousness. **To have come so far only to fail…I'm sorry I failed you…I'm sorry Dalem**. I passed out under the water mere feet from the surface and I drifted.

**Where am I…?**

**_Is that all you can do…come on get up._**

**Xaidra…is that you?**

**_You promised me you'd come back…WAKE UP!_**

My eyes snapped open with the memories of an old friend and I looked up at the surface and swam with all my might feeling new strength coursing through my limbs. As I burst through to the surface the first breath of fresh air felt like the breath of life but I knew I couldn't relax as I heard the sounds of fighting still continued. I knew that it would take too long to swim to the shore so I used my magic to freeze me a path across the water which I pulled myself onto. As I sprinted across the ice using more magic to maintain my balance I noticed that the beast had been wounded in its right leg and I would use this to my advantage for if there was one thing I truly understood it was vengeance. When I reached the shore I used my momentum to launch myself forward and drive one of my Katanas into the beasts wounded leg causing it to screech in pain.

"Eddoe you're alright," Ginger yelled.

"Talk later," I shouted back, "Kill now!"

Yulies arrows were doing little more than pissing it off, while Ginger's and Eldore's attacks were not doing enough damage, and so I decided to go attack it head on to finish it quickly. **I haven't done this twice in a row before but I need to end this now before things get really out of hand. **I again activated my ability Demon's Aura which again drastically increased my attack but my defense dropped to nearly nothing. I withdrew my blade and leapt into the sky where I maneuvered myself so I landed on its head where I began impaling my blades repeatedly into its skull until it hit the ground unmoving. I slide off of its neck sheathing my Katanas while I began wiping the gore off of my armor as the others approached me.

"I can't believe you're alive," Ginger said the awe evident in his eyes.

"I'm difficult to kill," I stated a grin on my face, "and besides this creature was only a threat due to its size."

"You always have to seem superior don't you?" Yulie hissed.

"Of course," I answered, "I am superior to you two in combat after all."

"Not all of the blood on you is from this creature," Eldore commented.

"Believe it or not there was an Ocean Snake in that damned lake," I told him.

"That is strange," Eldore stated a concerned look on his face, "When we get back we should tell Balandor."

"I agree," I told him, "but can we continue…I would like a chance to clean my armor off before the blood dries."

Eldore nodded and we advanced unopposed to the mouth of the Nordia tunnels which were as impressive as ever in my opinion. Eldore and I stopped with me looking around as I searched for a place to camp.

"This seems like a good place," I said turning towards Eldore.

"A good place for what?" Ginger inquired.

"It's a good place to set up camp," Eldore answered.

"What we can't waste time," Ginger shouted angrily.

"Look Ginger I need to clean this armor before it's ruined," I growled, "and all of us could use a good night's rest after all."

"Another reason is that I'm old" Eldore stated, "And my magic gets weaker if I don't get enough rest."

"Leonard we couldn't have made it this far without their help," Yulie sighed.

"Fine," Ginger shouted storming off.

"It's going to be a long night," I sighed walking off to set up my tent.

**-A couple of hours later-**

I was sitting around the campfire wearing an Aeros Kirtle clothing while my Blitz Guard armor was drying and my other equipment was in my tent which I'd brought with me from Balandor. My tent was different from the others as it had a more Farian inspired influence and was made of a thicker material.

"What are we going to face in the tunnels?" Yulie inquired.

"Last time I went through there was nothing but Basilisks, Elementals, and Trolls," I answered.

I left it at that and gazed at the fire watching how it moved and flickered.

"Look I've got a couple of questions for you Eddoe." Ginger said a stern look on his face.

"Fair enough," I told him in a bored drawl.

"Look I don't car-," Ginger began, "Wait what?"

"I wouldn't expect you to wish to travel with me without knowing about me," I sighed, "but if I don't like the question I'm not going to answer."

"Fine," Ginger growled, "How did you become so skilled?"

"Years of training and conflict," I answered.

"How did you know Dalem?"

"All you need to know is he saved my life."

"Where are you from?"

"…"

"Well?"

"…"

"You're from Valeria aren't you?" Eldore asked.

"…I'm glad that my homeland isn't forgotten," I told him.

"Where's Valeria?" Yulie asked, "I've never heard of it."

"I'm not surprised," I sighed, "It fell fifteen years ago…when I was just a child."

"I'm so sorry," Yulie said the shock evident in her face, "That explains why you've such a negative outlook on life."

"To witness all you love burn around you doesn't just change you…It destroys you," I stated getting up to tend to the fire.

"Can you tell us a little about Valeria?" Ginger inquired the curiosity evident in his voice.

"As you wish," I told him, "Valeria was a beautiful city made nearly entirely out of white stone. The buildings were made of Marble while the walls were made from a nearly indestructible type of stone that I've failed to find elsewhere."

"Why was it called Valeria?" Yulie inquired.

"It was located in a beautiful vale," I answered, "I know it wasn't very creative but it stuck. The vale was filled with animals only found there. Animals such as wolves, bears, deer, and other such animals but that was in the past so I don't know if their still there. We were also a technologically advanced kingdom with machines similar to the Magi."

"Really you had Monoships?" Leonard inquired in awe while I nodded.  
"I heard a rumor that your people even had been developing a knight," Eldore commented, "was that true?"

"Yes it was," I sighed, "but my homelands greatest achievement was never completed."

"How do you know so much about this?" Yulie inquired curious, "and I thought it was impossible to create a new knight."

"I knew about it because my father was head of the project," I answered her, "but I only know a little about how they did it from conversations I'd overheard between my father and his colleagues. If I heard him correctly they found a deceased knight."

"Hm," Eldore said putting his hand on his chin, "Where did they find it?"

"I don't know," I told them truthfully.

We fell silent with me leaning back to examine the stars until I heard a cooing and Yulie shouting something about a bigalow. As I sat up I saw a blue owl like creature with a strange pendant around its neck and I was shocked as a light emitted from its eyes projecting a bluish ghost image of princess Cisna.

"A bigalow," Cisna said surprised, "That means someone watching…Hello is anyone there?"

"Cisna," Ginger yelled jumping to his feet.

"Leonard…I'm so glad to see you," She sighed with relief.

"Cut the crap," I hissed, "We don't have a lot of time and we need information from you princess."

"What?" Cisna squeaked surprised.

"Your majesty," Eldore began with a bow, "We need to know where you are."

"I…," She paused turning away for a moment, "I see an endless ocean of golden sand as far as the eye can see."

"The Lagnish Desert," I sighed, "That's not very surprising…can you give us more information, maybe a land formation of some sort."

"I think we've stopped at a town somewhere in the desert," She said, "and I've heard talk of them beginning to…Wait, someone's coming…I've got to go all of you stay safe."

"Cisna wait!" Ginger yelled reaching out to the projection but it was gone before he even reached halfway.

"Looks like we're heading to Albana," I sighed, "I hate that place."

"Why, what could be so bad about it?" Yulie questioned.

"As wretched a place of scum and villainy as you'll ever find," I sighed, "And I'm not on good terms with the Don."

"Oh…," Yulie said not understanding.

"It's a nest of criminal activity," Eldore commented, "I would have tried to avoid it but it looks like that can't be helped."

"That wouldn't have worked out for me," I stated yawning, "I've business to conclude in Albana."

"Then why are you whining about it!?" Ginger shouted practically hysterical about the princess.

"Because I hate it, I'm not on good terms with the Don," I began snidely, "and I love the sound of my own voice…will you calm the hell down!"

This last comment was brought on by Ginger who began passing back and forth muttering to himself insanely. I actually found it quite hilarious that this girl he'd probably only known for about a day was causing him to act out like this. I would never let myself become this attached to someone especially someone our survival rate

"Ginger sit down before you wear a trench into the ground," I chuckled.

"But she's in danger!" He shouted the panic evident.

"Leonard calm down," Yulie comforted grabbing hold of his hand, "She'll be alright…I promise."

"Well I'm sorry but I'm going to bed before this gets any funnier," I laughed getting up to walk towards my tent.

As I approached it I noted how I set mine up away from the others as I preferred to be alone and these people weren't going to change that.

"Haven't you ever been in love?" Yulie hissed only a couple of feet behind me.

I stopped shocked by what she said, for the truth was I've never been in love nor could I truly understand it. I didn't bother turning around but instead continued to my tent choosing to ignore the comment but as I sat in tent gazing up at the stars through the hole where the poles came together my thoughts drifted back to my time growing up in Faria just before I left for Balandor…

**-Flash Back ten years-**

_"Eddoe wait up," A young girl's voice called out to me, "Wait you're too fast for me to keep up."_

_"You have to learn the layout of the woods Lady Miu," I told her, "You're grandfather instructed me to make sure that you know the layout perfectly."_

_"But you're too fast," Miu pouted, "How does Grandfather expect me to keep up with you let alone beat you."_

_"That's easy," another young girl's voice snickered from behind me, "you've got to outsmart him…which shouldn't be too hard he is a guy after all."_

_I sighed turning around to see a young Farian girl of my age with bright pink hair tied back into a braided ponytail standing behind me grinning._

_"Xaidra do you think you can do better than me," I taunted my friend._

_"Yes I do," Xaidra snickered, "but it's not me you have to worry about."_

_I whipped around to see Miu rushing towards the next leg of the race with a huge head start._

_"You tricked me," I stated incredulous._

_"Well after all that's the only way she could beat someone like you," Xaidra sighed, "She'll never be as physically strong as you or Dalem but she can mentally strengthen herself so she can eventually pass you."_

_"I guess you're right," I sighed, "but I'd better catch up to her so nothing bad happens."_

**-Present-**

I sighed gazing up at the stars as I remembered the sort of mischief Xaidra and I got up too when we were kids and I knew I missed her. **It's been ten years since I've seen her…she probably doesn't even remember me. **With these thoughts I turned over and drifted off to sleep a tear rolling down my cheek as I realized all I've lost.

Here ends Chapter 2: The Adventure Begins, Stay tuned for the next chapter titled True Terror. To explain something's I will be adding several new party members to Leonard's party throughout the story but these characters will have more to do with Eddoe's story than Leonard's. Eddoe's tent is similar to a Native American tipi. I won't be describing the armor or weapons they wear unless there unique because I'm mostly going to be using the actual equipment from the game. I will also be adding new types of creatures throughout the story for two reasons. Reason one is the Eddoe is much stronger than any of Leonard's group so these creatures are there to make sure that Eddoe has something to fight that's at his own level of power, while the second reason is pretty much to try and make Valeria have different forms of life than we've already seen.


	5. Character set 2

Characters

Farlend (Original Character)-A Farian who is an old war buddy Eddoe's and one of the Yggdra guards. He was accompanying Archduke Dalem as the reprehensive of Father Yggdra and the captain of Dalem's Guard. He is a masterful fighter with years of combat experience and he was also present at the siege of Balandor where he was one of the first people through the gate. He is capable of minor healing magic but is much more skilled in natural remedies.

Age-27

Game Comparison Level-60

Appearance-Brown Pony tail hair, Yellow Eyes

Race-Farian

Armor-Yggdra Guard Armor

Starter Weapon-Dragonfly II

Unique Magic-none

Personality-Calm, Boastful, proud, charismatic, loyal

Likes-Honor, the Forests, winter, reading, art

Dislikes-cities, inactivity, disloyalty, Magi

Eldore-A mysterious man who has a knack for being in the right spot at the right time, he is skilled with black magic, and Longswords. Not much is known about him but he seems to know more than he tells. He offers to accompany the party to rescue princess Cisna after she was kidnapped.

Age-47

Game Comparison Level-10

Appearance-salt and pepper unkempt hair, trimmed salt and pepper beard.

Race-Human

Armor-Personal Armor

Starter Weapon-Greatsword

Unique Magic-none

Personality-Loyal, Patient, sage like


	6. Chapter 4

Chapter 4-True Terror

We'd just entered the Nordia tunnels which were lit with a type of iridescent blue stones casting long distorted shadows. I was nervous though because something wasn't right as normally there were many other monsters roaming around but I saw nothing in front of us. Yulie was at the head our group gazing in awe at the beauty of the cave.

"This place is beautiful," Yulie stated in awe, "What was this place before."

"It was a mine," I answered her with a slight shrug, "but that was years ago before the miners uncovered a shaft filled with basilisks."

"How did the Miners get out?" Ginger asked which caused Eldore to sigh and me to shake my head, "Wait what…oh you mean…wow."

"No survivors," I told him causally, "and there won't be any more until a way can be figured out how to eliminate the nest or these mines will continue to be infested by the lizards."

I pushed forward into the mines with the others following me as Eldore went into detail about the mines and what happens when people get too greedy. I wasn't paying attention to the conversation as I was on the lookout for enemies in the cave and I doubted that the Magi would really give up the white Incorruptus so easily. I was slowly continuing my advance leaving the others behind when I heard it, the sound of many legs scrabbling across the ground. **No…I didn't just hear what I think that was…god please no…at least let it be a small one. **I looked forward to see a blue spider the size of an average dog come scuttling out of the darkness. **Thank god…it's only a small one…wait what's that sound. **Following it out of the darkness were about six more spiders and the one that had come out first leapt on me, wrapping its legs around me, and attempted to sink its fangs into my face.

"Get it off, get it off, get it off, get it off," I cried panicking immensely as I struggled, "Oh god get it off, get it off, get it off!"

I saw the blade of Eldore's longsword cleave through the spider's body and in that instance I let loose with a powerful but panicked blast of fire magic scorching the tunnel ahead of us clean of the spiders.

"Thank you Eldore," I told him a very noticeable twitch in my right hand, left eye, and upper lip, "I thought I was a goner."

"Why did you freeze up?" Ginger questioned.

"I…um-," I began not sure how to lie about what happened.

"You're Arachnophobic aren't you?" Eldore asked.

"Yes…but I have my reasons," I hissed, my fear melting into anger at myself.

"I'm sorry but what does Arachnophobic mean?" Yulie asked curious.

"He's afraid of spiders," Eldore commented.

"You're afraid spiders," Ginger began laughing, "How can you be afraid of spiders?"

"Shut up or I'll shut you up," I snarled embarrassed, "I've no reason to explain myself to you."

"But-," Ginger began.

"Leonard leave him alone," Yulie hissed, "Everyone has their own fears."

"Yeah I guess you're right," Ginger sighed, "I'm sorry Eddoe."

"I don't need your apologies," I snarled as I stormed away down the tunnel.

I'd been embarrassed horribly by my actions…and to make matters worse it was against an enemy that was much weaker than me…that was unforgiveable and cowardly. I stopped and sat down letting my anger wash over me until it was spent…I'd done my best to avoid spiders ever since I was a small child due to my unnatural fear of them. As I felt my anger evaporate I rose to my feet to see Ginger and the others coming towards me an apologetic look in his eyes but I couldn't care less. I stood awaiting orders from someone because something was worrying me horribly about this whole situation. I'd come through here only a few days earlier and there had been no sign of a dire spider infestation besides that they couldn't even breed this fast so my guess was that someone had transported a nest here but why would someone.

"We should continue onwards," I suggested wanting to continue before the monsters discovered where we were.

"He's right Leonard," Eldore commented, "If we just stand around more monsters will find us and I doubt that they'll be the worse of our troubles in here."

We began marching again through the cave Eldore and I taking point, Ginger taking the rear with Yulie safely tucked in the middle to provide fire support without risking bodily harm. I was extremely jumpy because I could still hear the scuttling of the spiders as they moved through the tunnels looking for prey. I drew my sabre and prepared for combat as my paranoia skyrocketed due to my Arachnophobia causing me to see enemies hiding everywhere. I was drawing minor looks of concern from my allies but I didn't care…I was trying to fight through a fear that's haunted me nearly all of my life and it was so severe I wouldn't be surprised if it was genetic. We were rounding a corner when we all heard the violent hissing just out of sight.

"At least the basilisks are still here," I sighed feeling slightly better for my cowardice.

"What is a basilisk exactly," Yulie inquired of me.

I shook my head and motioned her to look around the corner and when she did I knew she'd see blue lizards with purple frills on their bodies similar to feathers. I knew that their bite could hold a severe amount of toxins but the ones in the Nordia tunnels for some reason did not produce the poison…I didn't know if it was due to their surroundings or if they were some sort of subgenus that had been bred to be weaker.

"Why are you relieved to see those things?" Yulie hissed shocked that I was so calm.

"They're not spiders," I laughed quietly to myself, "…they're something I've fought before at least."

I stepped around the corner drawing my sabre as I prepared to remove the obstacle from our path…a small grin on my face. I rushed the basilisks who noticed my charge…the first one lunged at me but I sidestepped and removed its head…the second one attempted to smash me with its tail but I simply jumped over it and pierced its skull with my blade…the last two held back but that was still a mistake as I unleashed a powerful blast of fire from my outstretched hand incinerating my opponents. I was pleased with the results feeling that I was once again getting back into the swing of things and that was bringing back my slightly arrogant air.

"Well it looks like he's back to his usual self," Yulie sighed exasperated, "I don't know whether that's a good thing or bad thing?"

"But how long will it last?" I Eldore wondered out loud.

"Probably until we run into another spider," Ginger snickered but I ignored him.

"We need to continue on people," I hissed my mood returning, "and you'll keep your thoughts to yourself if you know what's good for you."

He laughed as we continued on our way…at least till we hit a slight snag. We approached a set of wrought iron gates that were rusted but still in working condition. I walked towards them and pushed…but they didn't budge…I pushed harder thinking maybe that they'd rusted together but still they did not budge which led me to one conclusion. **They're fucking locked…but how I hid the key years ago…damn it I didn't want to go down there but it looks like I've no choice.**

"What's wrong Eddoe?" Yulie inquired walking towards me.

"Yeah what's the hold up?" Ginger asked.

"Someone locked the damn gate," I sighed kicking the gates which caused some dust to rain down from the ceiling.

"Wait then how do we get through?" Ginger whined.

"Don't worry I know where the key is," I hissed, "but at least two of us should stay here to hold the gates in case someone or something tries to get through it."

"Why shoul-," Ginger began.

"Who should go with you to collect the key?" Eldore asked cutting off Ginger.

"It doesn't matter," I said walking back down the tunnel, "Just decide among yourselves."

I continued walking until I heard the soft clink of mail and so I turned to see Yulie running towards me her bow gripped in her hand and the quiver strapped to her hip. I sighed and began walking again not even waiting for her to fully catch up to me.

"Hey wait up speed," she yelled to me.

"Hey slowpoke speed up," I muttered under my breath.

"So care to explain to me why you know where this key is?" She inquired out of breath.

"I passed through here a couple of years ago and I hid the key myself," I answered with a sigh, "but I didn't relock the gate…which makes me wonder how it could be relocked."

"Couldn't someone just relock it?" She questioned confused.

"This isn't a simple padlock," I sighed…I liked Yulie more than Ginger because she actually thought things through, "It was a lock designed by my people and it runs its way through the entire door and several feet into the roof and floor of the cave making it ridiculously difficult to break open and it can only be locked or unlocked with a specific key."

"Could someone have made another key for it?" Yulie questioned as we approached a set of gates near the entrance to the tunnels.

"Yes but they'd need molds from Valeria," I answered, "Which means it's the Magi who locked the doors…damn it how dare they defile the legacy of my people!"

"Wait do you mean that your homeland was conquered by the Magi?" Yulie shouted shocked.

"Yes they were utterly brutal when they did," I sighed approaching the gates to find them chained with a padlock, "but apparently they didn't recover all the molds."

I drew my sabre and slashed through the lock chain and all. I pushed the gate open holding it for Yulie to step in after me because as soon as I let it go it swung shut with a loud clang causing her to jump in surprise.

"I little jumpy aren't we," I chuckled.

"You seem to be in a much better mood," She said she sighed, "but I have to wonder why are you always so much nicer to me than Leonard."

"Well the answer is simple," I laughed, "Ginger is a moron…but you're not…you actually think things through."

"Sadly you're right," She sighed as we walked down the slope, "Leonard does need to learn to think things out."

"I want to give him that chance before he throws his life away," I smiled, "I've lived a tough life and I see the potential he has to become a great leader…I don't want to see that torn away by war as it was for me."

She looked at me and I could see a glimmer of respect in her eyes but I continued to move forward deeper into the cavern. I could hear Yulie walking behind me…she wasn't very quiet…but I could also hear the thunderous footfalls of trolls that had somehow managed to make their way to the lower corridors but they were easy to dodge within the narrow passages of these tunnels. I almost started snickering to myself as we dodged one of them and it had attempted to follow us into a tunnel half its size only to get stuck. I continued to move forward when I noticed that when I exhaled it would come out as a cloud. **The temperature of has taken a sharp drop…there must be Elementals nearby…I should warn Yulie so she doesn't attack them.**

"Yulie don't-," I began before one of them floated around the bend…it was a blue one…and Yulie panicked.

"Watch out!" She shouted pulling back her bow to fire but luckily I caught her before she fired, "What are you doing?"

"You don't want to do that," I told her hurriedly, "Elementals won't attack you unless you attack them…and they are one of the most dangerous enemies you'll ever face."

She was stunned by this as I turned and just walked by it…and it paid me no attention almost as if I was a weakness in the great powers of the world…which I probably was as I knew that there are things out there stronger than me.

"How did you know it wouldn't attack us?" Yulie inquired shocked at my knowledge.

"I've traveled through here before," I sighed, "They were also here when I hid the key."

She simply nodded and we continued forward…this was the way I preferred to work…alone or in small groups. We turned once more and emerged at a tunnel where a broken down lift stood at the end but branching off was a tunnel that led to a small room with nothing in it. I walked into the center and began sifting through the dirt until I found a small object wrapped in cloth. I picked it up and slowly unwrapped it to reveal a silver key that was designed with an aesthetic but functional mind.

"That's the key?" Yulie asked shocked, "It looks more like a work of art!"

"Of course," I chuckled, "My people were willing to work to aesthetic yet functional cities and works."

"Um…sorry…what does aesthetic mean?" Yulie inquired looking confused.

"Aesthetics have to do with beauty and such things," I answered her smiling, "My people wanted to live in a place of beauty that complimented the beauty of our natural surroundings…it was difficult but when we accomplished it…it was worth it."

"It sounds like Valeria was a wonderful place to live," Yulie told me smiling.

"It was," I answered sadly, "and the world is a darker place due to its loss."

With that I turned on my heel and we made our way back to Eldore and Ginger…we had to fight a couple monsters on the way there but since we'd parted ways with Ginger the monsters seemed much more docile than when we were traveling with him. Which I attributed to his knights power driving them mad and that was strange because I've never heard of such a phenomenon in all of my travels. We made it back to the others without much incident but Ginger had apparently worried himself about us…mainly about Yulie but still. Eldore turned towards us as I walked towards the gate with the key held firmly in my hand and when I inserted it into the lock and turned it the clicking and clunking of the gears turning could be heard thundering throughout the tunnel as the lock opened.

"Well shall we continue," I stated pushing open the gate open, "or do you want to stop and rest?"

Ginger said something under his breath as he stormed through the gate leaving us behind. I chuckled to myself and followed after him with Yulie and Eldore in tow. We walked for a few minutes before we heard a group of people talking but what they were saying was inaudible so we quietly approached to find out that the people talking were actually Magi…and I wasted no time in drawing my sabre. The others looked at me as I jumped around the edge of the tunnel ambushing the soldiers and while they were in their shocked status I quickly eliminated them. As I stood there wearing a sadistic grin I wiped the blood off of my sabre but kept it drawn.

"What are the Magi doing here," Ginger hissed.

"They're here to claim the knight," I hissed back, "and we must keep moving forward."

We set off again encountering the occasional group of Magi that we quickly silenced before moving on and eventually we reached a tunnel that led out into a wide open room with the exit on the other side but there was a snag.

"Stop!" a voice rang out behind us.

We turned to see several Magi led by an officer wielding an axe but he wasn't the real threat as I saw several magic wielders charging their spells.

"Run," I yelled as they fired of huge amounts of magic.

Yulie and Eldore ran but Ginger froze so I used my own magic to launch him into the room but this prevented me from following them. As the spells struck the tunnel began collapsing the rubble burying the entrance to the room and collapsing the floor taking me and the Magi with it. When I hit the ground I felt disoriented from the fall but I had enough of my wits left to check the Magi…and I found most of them to be deceased and the ones that weren't soon followed them. I searched my surroundings and to my sheer horror I found that the walls were coated with cobwebs and the broken shells of spider eggs. **Why did I have to land in a spider's nest why…I've got to find a way out.** I stumbled deeper into the tunnel attempting to find my way out. I was still slightly disoriented as I heard the scuttling of their legs as they went to investigate the cave in…and more than likely feast on the fallen. I took off running my footfalls echoing loudly throughout the tunnels and occasionally tripped but I quickly righted myself. I'd been running for about a minute before I emerged into a circular room with a crack on the other side filled with gemstones that glowed brightly. I stood there attempting to catch my breath as I felt a pain in my side from a bruise caused from the fall when I heard the near silent thud of a huge creature moving towards me from behind. I whipped around to see a gigantic Direspider Queen heading towards me the venom dripping from its mandibles. I felt my body go numb from the fear of seeing such a creature…I couldn't move a muscle due to my fear…my mind clouded and my body refused to listen to me. The creature approached me hissing a clicking as multiple spiderlings appeared behind it. **This is it isn't it…I'm going to die as spider chow…how ironic?** As they approached me I felt my body begin moving on its own. It drew my sabre and launched a fireball incinerating all of the spiderlings but leaving the queen alive if slightly scorched. It hissed and screeched angrily at me but the force directing my body did not allow it rest as it rushed me at it forcing my body to jump and completely slice off two of its legs…as I hit the ground I rolled back to my feet the force turning my body and raising my hand when it directed a bolt of lightning at the target critically wounding it but not killing it. As it sat there twitching I felt the force controlling my body relent allowing me to move on my own again. I fell to my knees where I just stared at the creature feeling drained of all emotion…I rose to my feet and plunged my sabre into its head causing it to screech horribly as it twitched in its death throes. I then turned and walked toward the crack in the wall hoping that I would be able to find a way out to regroup with my allies. I emerged into the room with the gems but I couldn't figure out where to go next as there were several tunnels so I just took one of them hoping to arrive on the outside. I was walking into the tunnel when I saw a light at the end. I rushed forward out into the blinding light…I gazed out into an oasis that sat on the edge of the desert and I felt the warmth of the sun on my skin again. I was worried about my allies as I looked out over the area to see a man in black come running out of a cave to my left…I looked around again for a way off of the cliff I was on…the setting sun blinding me somewhat as I made my way down the cliff face. By the time I made it down the sun had completely set blanketing the area in darkness. I wandered through it until I saw a fire glowing in the darkness and as I approached it quietly I decided to climb a tree and move through those…I saw it was my companions talking among themselves so I decided to eavesdrop.

"I can't believe he's gone," Ginger sighed, "He sacrificed himself to save me."

"Leonard," Yulie sighed patting him on the shoulder.

Eldore just sat there a small smile on his face I saw his eyes dart towards me in the tree…he knew I was there.

"Yeah and I'm such a good guy as well," I chimed in trying not to snicker.

"Yeah your right…he was such a go-," Ginger began before stopping, "Wait a minute."

He looked up to see me sitting in a tree above the camp the grin apparent on my face.

"You bastard," Ginger shouted angrily, "You've been alive this whole time."

"Yes…I'm hurt that you'd think I'd fall so easily," I snickered.

Leonard snorted and stormed off towards the pond that was nearby while Yulie sighed and walked off for the first round of guard duty.

"So what did I miss?" I inquired of Eldore.

He hurried and explained what had happened to them while I was gone. He explained that they ran into Dragias who was revealed to be Ebon-Wings one of the knights of legend.

"I can't deal with this right now," I yawned and began setting up my tent to sleep.

When it was set up I laid down and to sleep almost instantly falling into a deep slumber…

-Later that night-

_I wandered through the street of Valeria…I passed the landmarks I remembered from my childhood…I heard sounds and smelt smells I hadn't heard or smelt since my childhood but strangely enough no one seemed to notice me…almost as if I was a ghost. I heard shouting and turned to see a young boy of about four years in immaculate attire come running down the street shrieking in joy...three guards in tow. This set the people around laughing hysterically as this young man led the guards on a merry chase through the city streets._

"_Master Eddoe," one of them shouted, "Slow down…your father told you to stay with us!"_

"_Run faster," I-the younger me taunted._

_It was no shock to me…I knew that bright eyed young boy was me…curious about anything and everything that was in the world…I quickly moved to follow my younger self who moved out of the city to the countryside. The younger me was laughing and enjoying himself not paying attention to his surroundings. I-he…whatever…was chasing a butterfly into what we thought was a thick patch of undergrowth but it turned out to be a pit and he…we plummeted downwards into the dark…hitting the ground hard I felt the tears run down my face as I cried out in pain feeling my arm break._

"_Master Eddoe!" the guard from before shouted._

_I sat up and looked around the light from above revealing a cave…and then I heard scuttling…from everywhere hundreds of spiders the size of dinner plates came streaming out of every crevice in the cave and swarmed over me…in seconds I was covered in spiders…I screamed in fear as I was covered in them for minutes…I was terrified…but then a flame welled up in the darkness at the other end of the cave scattering all of the creatures who fled at the sight of the flame…I looked up to see a man in green armor with long well-kept green hair and goatee, strange tattoos, and to my surprise antlers. He picked me up and began moving towards an entrance I had not seen before…as he walked out I saw my father running towards us…his armor glinting in the sunlight and his one remaining eye shining with fear…I heard him cry out and rush over to the man…who handed me over to my father…I heard one name muttered in thanks…Dalem._

I awoke from my slumber with a start…it had not been a dream but a memory of my past…the first time Dalem saved me. I stood up and walked out of my tent to find the fire extinguished and Ginger leaning against a tree his head slumped to the side as he dozed…I should be angry but I wasn't. I strode towards him and shook him awake.

"You should get some sleep," I told him to which he nodded and walked off towards his tent.

I stood and gazed at the moon feeling the tears well up once again but I quickly pushed them aside as I pulled out a strange crystalline stone…a memory stone…it was the last of my treasures…the last gift given to me by my father. I activated it to reveal a man tinged in bluish light. He wore a set of plate armor worn by only the strongest Men at Arms of Valeria. He had brown hair and a face similar to mine but with two emerald eyes…his hair was cut short with a braid at the front. He was standing next to a brown haired woman with grey eyes holding a small newborn in her hands smiling and waving at someone I couldn't see…they were laughing and smiling…My family in happier times…before everything went wrong. I smiled as I gazed upon my mother and father…and myself as a newborn…but I again felt the tears well up within my eyes. I would avenge my father and reclaim my homeland…but first I had to redeem myself in my own eyes. I gazed at the horizon to see the first line of the grey dawn approaching…I had sat out here for hours just staring at this projection…it was all I had left of my family…and I would protect it to the end.

Here ends chapter 4…So you've learned more about Eddoe's past and it seems he has something of a tragic backstory…why he has such a fear of spiders, and why he's so loyal to Dalem. If people would like after I'm done with the Three White Knight Chronicles Fanfictions I'm doing for 1, 2, and pretty much a sequel to 2 I'd be more than willing to write a prequel about the fall of Valeria if the reviewers show enough support. Hope you enjoyed reading it and due to one of the last reviews I got I'm moving Character pages and other important information to the end of the chapters they appear in to refine the story more…also I'm willing to include other stories Original Characters but I need information such as armor, weapon, gender, race, and personality.

Character Notes

Notable Enemies

Ebon Wings-Also known as the black knight…he is a serious threat and fights with a longsword like weapon. He is capable of sprouting wings and flying away.

Notable Allies

Morgan Yonthanx (Deceased)-The father of Eddoe he was a great scholar, scientist, and a captain of the Valerian Royal Guard as well as being the youngest son of the king. He was at the head of a project attempting to recreate a knight from long ago…his research was lost when the Magi sacked Valeria but it is suspected that he was able to hand off most of the data to a friend…

Elisabeth Yonthanx (Deceased)-The mother of Eddoe she was a well-respected seer who gave her life to save her son from attackers who have yet to be determined. She died when Eddoe was only a year old. She was a capable sorceress who could trace her history all the way back to the prophets of an ancient kingdom. She is buried in a hidden cemetery in Valeria…

Notable Events

The Sacking of Valeria-The Magi launched a surprise attack against Valeria whose armies were not present. The defensive garrison put up a valiant fight but eventually fell against the sheer numbers of the Magi onslaught. A group of Farians were present during the fight led by Dalem but where ordered to flee by acting commander Morgan Yonthanx…Dalem obeyed this command reluctantly…Valeria fell within hours of the attack.

Valerian Knight Project-Morgan Yonthanx sought to recreate a legendary knight of old through ancient magicks and modern technology…There are no known successes due to Magi attack.

Notable Objects

Memory Stones-The stones are pretty much recorders used to record moments of history by the people of Valeria…these objects are rare outside of Valerian hands and highly sought after by collectors and historians alike.


	7. Chapter 5

Chapter 5-Guardians of the Desert

I stood up as the sun broke the horizon drenching the lush landscape of the oasis and I scanned my surroundings to see that only Eldore was up fixing breakfast. I walked towards him and sat down on a nearby stone and just gazed skyward.

"So you've been this way before?" Eldore inquired calmly.

"Yes," I answered simply, "My people migrated here after the war…but I'm not sure they're here any longer."

"Really…but you suspect someone awaits you in Albana," Eldore commented handing me a bowl of simple soup.

"Yes…an old friend of mine," I said a small grin on my face, "he and I used to get into so much trouble together…but we eventually went our separate ways."

Our conversation was then rudely interrupted by the now awake Ginger who went over and grabbed his bowl of soup. He began slurping it down noisily which I found absolutely disgusting…not to mention annoying.

"So where is Albana exactly?" Ginger inquired curious.

"It's located in the center of the desert," Eldore answered preparing another bowl for the now awake Yulie.

"I've never seen the desert before," Yulie commented excited, "I can't wait to see it."

"You're going to regret that comment," I laughed, "Deserts are one of the most dangerous places on this world…and the Lagnish is one of the worst."

"What's so bad about it?" Yulie asked me.

"Well to start things off its filled with horrible monsters…Fire Giants and other such creatures," I answered the smile still on my face, "and then there's the desert itself…many people get past the monsters only to die from dehydration, starvation, or heat stroke…and those are the good ways to die in this place."

"Is it really that dangerous?" Ginger asked.

"Yes it is," Eldore commented dryly.

"Look we should get going before it gets too hot out," I told them standing up, "Make sure you refill our canteens to the brim…we're not likely to find a safe place to drink until we leave the Lagnish."

"What about Albana?" Ginger asked confused.

"Like I said we're not likely to find a safe source to drink until we leave the Lagnish," I answered clipping a mask to my helmet.

It looked like it was made out of some sort of organic material but it was actually a man-made material known as Lamellar. The eyes were open but the area over the mouth was covered by a mesh…I was wearing it to protect myself from the sand. I stood up and moved to a small pond nearby and began to fill several canteens…Yulie and Eldore soon joined me but Ginger was jumping around in his huge amount excitement…meaning that he was not filling his canteens. When we were done I stood up and began moving towards the edge of the oasis we were camping at followed by the others…why were they always following me damn it?

"What are we likely to face here?" Yulie inquired.

"Well last time I came through here there were fire giants, scorpions, fire elementals, a red boar like creature, as well as a giant tiger like creature," I answered unsure of some of their names as they had only recently been discovered in the Lagnish, "but for those of you who weren't there for my lecture about elementals here it is…leave them alone and they'll leave you alone."

Ginger sighed as the oasis abruptly changed into the golden sand of the desert…and the heat of the morning sun hit us like a charging bull.

"Argh –cough- I've got –cough- sand in my mouth," Yulie complained.

"What's with this wind?" Ginger commented.

"It's a common occurrence in this desert…be glad it's not terrible…there's some storms that can rip the flesh from your bones," I told them truthfully, "but listen I'm going to go scout ahead."

"Why the hell are you going on ahead?!" Ginger shouted.

"I'm the strongest of us," I scowled, "and I know the layout of the area best and can scout for ambushes."

With that I took off running through the desert leaving my stunned companions behind…truth be told I wanted to scout for something else…there was supposed to be an enclave of my people located in the desert but I'd never found it…at least not yet. I scaled a nearby cliff to gain a better perspective of the area and I was shocked by what I saw…the desert was teaming with monsters…way more than there should be. I took off across the bluff using a bow I borrowed from Yulie to pick off monsters that were blocking the group's way but I had to be careful because when I killed one of the monsters because the smell of fresh blood would quickly draw more monsters to it…hopefully the others would realize this. I was running forward when I realized that Ginger and the rest of the group had not appeared yet…and I'd been standing here for about ten minutes. I began backtracking attempting to find them…I ran back probably thirty yards when I came to a clearing…and there stood the others…surrounded by a group of fire giants. **How the hell did they get surrounded by so many fire giants…wait…the grounds shaking…shit! **I whirled around only to be met by a giant hammer and be sent flying straight into the others where I landed with a nasty crack…I'd broken my arm.

"Eddoe!" Yulie shouted in shock as Eldore helped me up, "Where were you!"

"Clearing the path," I hissed in pain, "Damn it…my arm is broken!"

"What the hell are we supposed to do then?!" Ginger shouted in panic raising his sword and shield.

"I said my arm is broken…not that I'm helpless," I snarled drawing my sabre only for my hand to spasm and drop it, "Shit…I can't even hold my own weapon."

I looked at my hand to see blood streaming down it from a wound in my shoulder…I examined the wound to find that my shoulder had been shredded by the spikes on the giants hammer…and that in turn damaged the nerves in my shoulder preventing me from properly wielding a weapon…and maybe even casting magic.

"What's wrong?" Eldore shouted as the fire giants began closing in…the chieftain who knocked me off the cliff jumped down and closed the ring around us meaning we had five giants to defeat before we could escape…a challenge for me even on a good day…but now.

"My remaining arm has received nerve damage," I snarled in pain, "I'm unable to continue the fight in my current condition."

"Then what are supposed to do?!" Yulie screamed the fear evident in her voice.

They all looked at me expecting me to come up with some great plan but to tell the truth…I was out of ideas…fire giants only hunted in pairs…if they hunted with others at all…I gazed to the sky to see a single pink pedal floating on the wind…it was strange because the petal was not native to this region...it was native to…the Vale!

"Get down!" I yelled grabbing both Yulie and Ginger and pulling them down with me as Eldore dropped to his knees.

From underneath the sands erupted ballista bolts with chains attached to them that pierced many of the fire giants and pulled them down…I turned to see the fire giant chieftain being pulled to towards the cliff wall where I could see several ballista's mounted within hidden alcoves…as the fire giants hit the ground trap doors opened and out leaped several soldiers wearing armor similar to the Balandor Kingdom armor except instead of the golden pieces they were red…they were Valerian Soldiers. The first fire giant was brought down to its knees and met with the halberds of two of the soldiers who surgically cut the arteries in its neck, the second was roaring in pain as three soldiers armed with crossbows took shots at its eyes blinding it and a soldier with a spear cut its throat, the third had been completely brought down onto its back when a soldier with a katana cut its head from its shoulders in a single swing, the fourth attempted to stand only to have its legs cut out from underneath it by a man with a war ax and had its head removed by the same axman, and the fire chieftain who was pinned against the cliff face was hit by blasts of winds that were cutting the giant to pieces as easily as a blade through kibble hide…I gazed over in the direction of the attacks to see a man in a crimson set of robes…and he was wielding a green war fan with white tips…accompanying him were two soldiers wielding Archmage's Staffs. I stood up and began walking towards him ignoring the worried looks from my allies…as I approached him he turned towards me a small scowl on his lips. His eyes were red in color and his hair was blond and long but slicked back.

"So you're still alive," the man growled before he ran up to me and hugged me with a smile, "It is wonderful to see you again my lord."

"You as well Ziron," I laughed glad to see an old comrade, "I can't believe you found us in this godforsaken desert."

"Well it's not actually a coincidence," Ziron sighed shaking his, "We were actually tracking these creatures for the last three days…we think that their building a war party."

"Shit," I hissed under my breath as the soldiers began removing the ballista missiles from the bodies of the dead, "Things just aren't going right."

"I wouldn't worry about it though," Ziron chuckled, "We've already killed several chieftains so far…so more than likely they'll just fall into infighting."

"Good…what the hell!" I winced as one of the soldiers began examining my shoulder.

"I'm examining your wound to prepare it for healing my lord," the soldier stated in a matter of fact tone.

"Continue," I hissed as he began prodding the wound causing my arm to flare up with pain.

"Who the hell are these people?!" Ginger yelled completely confused.

"Oh…forgive me," Ziron chuckled, "We are the Valerian army Lagnish division."

"Wait I thought Valeria fell," Yulie stated the confusion evident on her face.

"Our Capital fell," I stated wincing as the soldier set about healing my wounds, "but the outlying villages and towns were able to evacuate before the Magi could destroy them…also are armies were out in the field…"

"So they weren't there when our Valeria itself fell," Ziron sighed.

"So wait are you saying that there are thousands of vagrant soldiers out there?" Ginger inquired completely shocked, "Why don't you retake your homeland then?"

"Our army has aged ten years without a way to take care of equipment, train new recruits, and supply our army…not to mention all the veterans that have died in all of this time," I barked angrily, "and then there's the problem of not having a leader to unite behind."

"Your people are a monarchy right?" Yulie inquired to which Ziron and myself nodded, "Then why didn't your people just select a new king if there's no heirs?"

"But there is an heir," Ziron stated confused turning towards me and before I could tell him to shut up he told them, "Why Lord Eddoe here is the heir apparent."

This one comment was met with startled looks from Ginger, Yulie, and Eldore…as well a look of utter despair on mine. **Why god…why do you taunt me so…do you enjoy seeing me suffer…damn it.**

"I thought you knew," Ziron stated confused by the others looks.

**Note to self…kick the shit out of Ziron.**

"No they bloody hell didn't know!" I shouted panicked, "Do you think I go around proclaiming at the top of my lungs –Hey I'm the king of the long dead kingdom of Valeria come and hunt me down Magi-…god do you think I'm that dumb?!"

"Wait you're a king?" Ginger asked incredulously.

"And here we go," I muttered under my breath.

"Your majesty," Ginger stated with an insulting bow.

"I'm going to make you suffer," I whispered to Ziron…to which he only smiled, "and you stop it before I kick the shit out of you."

This last comment was directed at Ginger who was making a completely pompous ass out of himself. I turned and stalked off the path with the soldier trailing after me shouting something about needing to finish healing my wounds…**God I hate my life…I never wanted to be king…hell it was a shot in a million that I'd become the king…I hate fate. **I stopped once I was standing a good fifty paces away from the others as the soldier set about healing my remaining wounds. I turned as I heard a whooshing sound and saw that the soldiers had set the giants bodies on fire to burn them…Ziron was approaching me with the others in tow a small smile on his face.

"I'm more than willing to escort you and your comrades to Albana," Ziron offered to which I nodded my agreement and we quickly set off.

I soon fell into discussion with Ziron about the enclave that was supposed to be located in the Lagnish and he told me that they had moved on towards Greede to find greener pastures…literally…he then explained that he and his men were here to guard this area in case any other refuges passed through.

"We're here," Ziron stated as we approached the gate to Albana.

"Finally it's so hot," Ginger complained.

"One thing before you go," I told Ziron, "Have you seen a black monoship?"

"Yes I have," Ziron answered, "It landed on the edge of town for about an hour and then took off…it looked like they took some people aboard it."

"Thanks," I told but as I turned to leave he grabbed my arm.

"The council is convening in two months," he whispered in my ear before leaving with his men.

"What was that about?" Yulie asked as we walked into Albana.

"It was nothing," I stated calmly.

"Wow this place sure is lively," Ginger commented ignoring the conversation.

"Yeah it sure is," Yulie stated letting the conversation drop.

"Keep a firm hand on you pouches," I warned, "This place is filled with cutpurses who are always ready to fleece the incompetent."

"We should search for information," Eldore commented.

"You should start at the tavern," I told them turning to walk away, "I'll leave that to you."

"Where are you going?" Ginger inquired.

"I'm going to look for my acquaintance," I told him, "If you need to find me later I'll be at the guild."

I walked down one of the alleyways looking for a little hut that was meant to be unextraordinary…unless you knew what to look for. I approached a hut and soon found out it was the right one as a woman came running out screaming that the fates had abandoned her. I smiled opening the door and stepping into a heavily veiled room. I gazed around at the purple curtains and the incense candles that were perfuming the air with a pungent aroma. I approached a chair at table that had half of it covered by a thick black veil…as I sat down a voice spoke from the other side.

"I will now predict your future," the voice spoke clearly male, "but know child no future is set..."

I remained silent not wanting to tip him off…that was if he didn't already know I was here…most other fortune tellers were fake but this man wasn't…his name was Norvain Vask…and he was one of the last seers of Valeria…as well as the man I came to meet.

"I will now predict the future…wait what is this," Norvain stated confused, "I see a posterior…with a boot implanted in it…wait a minute that's my ass…and that boot seems familiar…shit."

Norvain ripped aside the curtain and just sat there staring at me in utter disbelief…he was wearing a set of Bloody Coat robes but they were different colored…they were deep blue with red embroidery. His hair was brown and slicked back and he had piercing blue eyes.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Norvain asked confused.

"I've a job for you," I answered him with a smile.

"Wait a paying job…no I don't want to know," He said seeming a little disoriented, "Last job we did together almost had me sleeping with a male warg!"

"Would you be willing to do it if I told you it would be rescuing a princess?" I told him seeing his resolve to deny me unraveling fast for you see unlike me Norvain had a chivalrous heart and could not turn away from someone in need of help.

"Eddoe you are the biggest walking cliché I've ever met," he sighed after a couple of minutes, "Fine I'll help you."

"Good," I told him still smiling, "Meet me at the tavern in a little while."

"Wait but there's a disturbance going on at the Tavern," Norvain warned, "It seems like it's some sort of brawl."

"Shit grab your weapons and let's go," I shouted as he grabbed a set of metal rings with blades on them.

We went tearing through the streets nearly running over an old lady who was saying something about needing her palm read which caused Norvain to tell her to find another fortuneteller…we ran through the streets shoving people out of the way until we entered the main square where I saw my companions surrounded by probably a dozen or so shoddily outfitted warriors…Norvain rushed them and threw one of his weapons which as it spun in the air it made a horrible humming sound and as it struck the back of one of the warriors it split him in two…but as one of the others turned to see where the attack came from I was already upon him driving my blade through his chest…Eldore reacted using this distraction to cut down three more enemies while Yulie sniped two more and Ginger cut down three more as well as Norvain ended the last two with a blast of lightning. As the two charred corpses fell to the ground Norvain just stood there smiling but his smile quickly faded when he locked eyes with the blond haired woman who had not joined the fight.

"Eddoe," he began to warn me.

"I know," I told him readying my weapon.

"Eldore," Ginger shouted the fear in his voice.

"I sense it as well," Eldore warned, "We must be careful."

"So there are more of you," she stated with a thick accent…almost too thick, "but that won't save you…Aveni!"

When she said this she pulled out a card and held it to her forehead…which as she did released a massive burst of energy which through Eldore and myself down one of the streets and before we could get up a barrier emerged blocking us from the battle.

"Damn it," I shouted punching the barrier knowing it was hopeless.

"I take it we're trapped here," Eldore stated calmly.

"Yes we are," I hissed angrily, "It's all up to them."

"Who's your friend?" Eldore inquired curious as Norvain fought the woman now transformed into a Gigas.

"He's Norvain Vask…a Seer," I stated calming down slightly as Yulie shot the Gigas in the eye, "He's lucid most of the time but once in a while he'll say some pretty weird stuff."

"Press the X button to dodge roll," Norvain yelled loud enough for us to hear as if to illustrate my point, "Never mind just dodge!"

The battle was raging on with Ginger at one point attempting to activate his Incorruptus but the incantation took too long so Norvain pulled him out of the way of being crushed. The battle would have been impossible to win with us cut off if it had not been for Norvain…I could see Norvain was growing tired of this battle as he prepared a powerful lightning spell…which when he launched it brought the Gigas down…and suddenly it faded shattering the barrier and leaving the girl behind…Eldore and I rushed towards her me with my sword drawn to prepare to kill her but Ginger leapt in front of me to block my attack.

"What are you doing?!" He shouted at me.

"Ending a threat before it can begin," I snarled back.

"Eddoe we can't just kill her," Norvain stated shocked, "She's an unarmed prisoner."

"Fine have it your way," I scowled angrily storming off.

I stood waiting at the guild as they brought in the blond haired woman but before they could ask me to help I stormed off into the room I rented for myself and laid down on the bed…in my opinion the woman wouldn't be awake for a couple hours so I decided to catch up on my Z's…I quickly fell into a deep slumber not realizing that Yulie had enter my room…

_-Strange Darkness-_

_I was in an area filled with broken columns and other such debris…I soon realized I was not alone on this floating slab…I turned around to see a man dressed in red and golden armor with red golden tipped feathers attached to the back of the helmet…He simply stood there just staring at me._

_"So you are the inheritor of my legacy," the man stated his voice echoing as if in a cave, "You don't seem like much."_

_"Why don't you come and say that to my face," I snarled drawing my sabre as my enemy drew two ornate Katanas._

_I charged him as he charge me our blades clashing but not causing a sound or spark…I struck out again and again but he blocked all of my attempts to until eventually I forced him to the edge where he lost his footing and I lopped off his head…or so I thought for as his head hit the ground I saw that the armor was empty._

_"What the hell are you?" I inquired in a hushed tone._

_"I'm the future," he stated picking up his head._

-Room in the guild-

I awoke with a start the sun rising in the distance…as I rose to my feet I saw Yulie sleeping in a chair in my room and I was confused as to why she was there so I shook her awake.

"W-w-what," She stated groggily.

"Why are you here?" I asked confused.

"Oh –yawn- I was going to ask you something," She stated, "Why were you so ready to kill that woman?"

"She was an enemy," I stated simply, "Now if that's all you've to ask…GET THE HELL OUT OF MY ROOM!"

I practically ripped her out of the chair and threw her out of the room as I went and laid back down to on the bed where I quickly fell back asleep knowing full well that Ginger wound have some crack pot scheme to try and find the Princess…and I would need all the energy I could muster…and besides I had to attempt to understand who this man was in my dream…and what legacy…

Here ends Chapter 5…I thank you for all of your reviews and questions about this story. The part where Eldore explains what the woman's turned into is now handled by Norvain and it is not heard due to the barrier and the distance between them and the battle as Eddoe and Eldore are thrown down the street leading to the general store. As to the question from Spartan016the Blitz Guard armor is a black set of Archduchy armor embossed with golden thread. The Helmets Worn by Male Farians are the same as the normal ones except black while the one worn by Eddoe is a normal one except it has a length of Wolf hair emerging from the top and extending down about two feet. Female Farians have a hood instead of the Helmet. Also the Mask worn by Eddoe in the fifth chapter is very similar to the ones worn by the Samurai of Feudal Japan. The review I made earlier was entered under the false assumption that the Archduchy Armor was known as Farian heavy armor but I've recently replayed the game again to correct my mistake. But new information keeps adding up…apparently Valeria isn't entirely dead just scattered… Eddoe's dream about a strange warrior…and Eddoe is the one true king of Valeria…it looks like the past is catching up to him…what will this mean for the redemption seeking mercenary. Thank you for your support and don't forget to review…All characters stated by name will become important to the story…eventually.

Characters-

Norvain Vask-

Age-19

Gender-Male

Bio-A seer of the Kingdom of Valeria and a longtime friend of Eddoe Yonthanx…he is somewhat insane due to his abilities. He fights with a set of weapons known as Chakrams.

Ziron Talon-

Age-20

Gender-Male

Bio-A Knight Strategist of Valeria and commander of the Lagnish division. He fights with a war fan similar to Eddoe's except this is green with red tips…He is an old acquaintance of Eddoe's.

Author Request-

In one of the later chapters taking place in Greede I will have a mission based on one of the side missions taking place…The one where you face the gauntlet of monsters in an arena style fight but instead of monsters I will be using characters found in the game…I will be taking requests from authors who would with their OCs to participate…I thank you for taking your time to read this story and sticking with it this far.


	8. Chapter 6

Chapter 6-A Toad's task…Assault on the ruins

**_-A Dream?-_**

_I stood gazing at the woods around me…The Lost Wood…the Home of the Farian Capital…I gazed at myself…I was wearing strange armor…it was purple and black and seemed to be made out of both cloth and metal…I was gazing through a simple mask at my surroundings…and as I turned to look to my left I saw a Farian women in Blitz guard armor standing next to me…her hood lowered to reveal bright pink hair a face that caused a warmth in my chest…I reached out to caress her face…in her ear was an ornate ear ring…but before I could study her further I was blinded by a flash of light…_

-Albana-

I awoke with a start…sweat pour down me…I heard a whirring to my left and as I turned I saw Norvain playing with an old metal top…an old toy from Valeria.

"It's strange isn't it," Norvain chuckled, "I remember the first time I had a vision…I couldn't eat for a day."

"I'm not a seer," I hissed at him…I didn't want visions or any of the thing that came with them.

"You've the blood of a seer," Norvain told me, "You're mother was one of the most powerful seers in the history of Valeria…so even if your blood is inactive you're bound to have a couple visions."

"Will you put that damn thing away," I sighed hating the top right now.

"Fine," he told me picking it up, "but you won't be able to deny your blood forever…even if you don't become a full blown seer your powers will give you benefits."

"What time is it?" I inquired attempting to change the subject.

"It's nearly noon...the rest of them went down to the eastern gate," Norvain sighed, "Apparently they don't now they need a pass."

"What about Blondie?" I asked with a yawn.

"Her names Kara and she's spun a sob story about how the Magi have kidnapped her sister," Norvain sighed, "I was just going to meet them when I found a bounty poster in the guild…thought you might want to see it."

He handed me an old poster revealing a cruel looking Farian with blond hair and a black eye-patch…his name was Shapur and he had betrayed my people and his own to the Magi when they attacked Valeria…to say I had a personal vendetta against him would be an understatement…I wanted his head about as much as I wanted the midget's head.

"Tell the others I'll meet up with them later," I told Norvain as I jumped out of bed and began getting dressed.

"Yeah but where should we meet up with you?" Norvain asked me.

"There's an oasis in the desert," I told him attaching my Katanas to my hip, "I'll meet them there in about an hour."

Norvain nodded and left my room as I gathered up all of my other equipment and set out into the desert fully intending to claim the bounty on Shapur…even though the way I intended to claim it only earned me half the bounty this was more about vengeance than justice. As I stepped out into the desert heat I really regretted that I was wearing black colored armor…why did I have to pick this color for the armor…I should have gone with gold or something lighter than black…**Too late now. **I sighed as I exited through the gate checking the wanted poster to learn that his last known location was at an area just to the west near a spire of rock…if my memory was serving me right that was also the location of some important person's grave. As I set out across the desert thoughts about Shapur and what he did kept flashing through my mind…**When I find him I should just end him quickly…hmmm…actually I think I'll make him suffer before I snuff out his life…I'll make him pay for all the pain he's caused me…for the homeland he stole from me. **As I walked through the desert I saw even the largest of beasts fled at my approach…I walked through the desert with purpose and anyone that would have seen me now would have cowered before me as my steely gaze searched the desert…when I finally arrived I knew I was in the right place because there was a squad of Magi soldiers sitting around a camp…I smiled to myself as I saw the fools not even posting guards…so I simply walked into the camp not even bothering to draw my weapons.

"So can any of you tell me where I can find Shapur?" I inquired snidely as the soldiers rose to their feet drawing their weapons and charging me, "and so the fools like you don't stand a chance against a warrior of my caliber."

There was ten soldiers total…the first had a bow and as he fired an arrow at my face I simply plucked it from the air and impaled another soldier charging me through the neck with it…and as the soldier fell I ripped his spear from his grasp and hurled it at the soldier with the bow impaling him in the gut…a third soldier charged at me with an great ax but as he swung I simply sidestepped the wild blow, grabbed the hilt of the weapon with one hand and clocked the soldier in the side of the head with the other causing him to relinquish his grip on the weapon…as this soldier stumbled backwards another soldier charged me with his cutlass held high but I blocked the blow with the haft of my weapon and then struck him under the chin with the grip causing him to back pedal and allowing me to sweep his feet out from under him…when he hit the ground I brought the axe down with enough force to completely cut through the armor on his chest and bite into his chest…as blood poured from the wound I turned and with a quick flourish I had beheaded the third soldier but then both the fifth and sixth soldiers charged me one using a spear and the other a war hammer…I back pedaled avoiding the thrust from the spearman and putting a decent amount of distance between me and the much slower war hammer wielding soldier…as he approached I hurled the great axe and it struck him in the head killing him near instantly but I still had to deal with the spear soldier who was rushing me…I looked behind him to see the remaining four soldiers all had bows and were preparing to fire on me so I knocked aside the soldiers reckless charge and used him as a meat shield to intercept the incoming arrows launched by the archers…as let go of the spearman now riddled with arrows I unleashed a powerful flame spell incinerating the remaining soldiers in a heartbeat…I heard gasping so I turned around to see the soldier I had impaled through the gut with the spear was still alive…if barely…I approached him and knelt by him gazing into his fearful eyes…whether he knew it or not he was going to die…either slowly from his wounds or quickly by my hand.

"Tell me where Shapur is and I shall ease your passing," I told him with a look that would chill anyone to the bone, "Tell me where he is or you shall suffer a slow passing…unless the beasts of the desert decide you'd make a tasty treat."

"Please…don't let me be eaten," the dying soldier gasped, "Lord Shapur is at the oasis…please don't let me be eaten."

I walked away only to pick up the spear lying by the soldier pierced by arrows and turned back to the soldier only to ram the spear through his skull…killing him instantly. I smiled sadistically at the feeling of knowing that my enemy was so close at hand and the blood lust and adrenaline didn't help me wipe the smile off. I began running towards the oasis hoping to reach it before my allies who would more than likely scare Shapur off…the monsters still fled in fear at my appearance…which I guess would be highly intimidating due to the fact I was drenched in human blood…which should have been attracting them but my presence was enough to chase them off…when I reached the oasis I saw standing at the edge of it was my target…his short blond hair, modified green archduchy armor, and the eye patch he wore…it was Shapur.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to find me," Shapur chuckled turning towards me and revealing the sabre in his hand, "I was starting to wonder if those soldiers had somehow killed you."

"I wouldn't let them kill me Shapur," I stated smiled cruelly, "After all I still have to kill you."

"This isn't like you at all," he taunted his accent really pissing me off for some reason, "What happened to your much vaunted justice?"

"This has nothing to do with either Justice or my people," I snarled drawing my own sabre and raising it so the point was directed at his chest, "This is just about me and you Shapur…and how I'm going to kill you."

"You can try but you won't succeed," Shapur taunted crossing his blade with mine, "and I shall enjoy this fight."

As he finished this sentence I batted aside his blade and swung at his head only for him to block it at the last minute…I whirled away blocking his counter strike and feinted at his head only to switch the blow and target his sternum but again he blocked this attack…**How is he doing this…I know Farians have fast reflexes but this is ridiculous damn it…**as he countered my attack I side stepped and drove my elbow into his temple stunning him and allowing me attack freely for a few seconds but Shapur had enough of his senses left to attempt to evade the attack so all the damage I delivered was a small cut to his thigh…but this was only a minor wound as he once again lashed out at me and I was not quick enough to block it but I was quick enough to evade most of it and only receive a small cut on my arm which burned fiercely despite it being only a minor wound…I raised my blade to counter only to feel my hand spasm and drop my sword…I was left completely defenseless but before he could strike I heard a humming and saw a Chakram fly at Shapur who barely blocked it but still it returned to its owner who I didn't even have to look to see who it was as I recognized the weapon as Norvain's and I heard the battle cries of the others as they rushed to my aid.

"I see you're not alone," Shapur said grinning as a light surrounded him, "You should be glad to hear that my master wishes you to live…for now…oh and Belcitane sends his greetings."

With that he vanished and I knelt down to pick up my sword and once again sheathed my blade on my back and turned to look at the group approaching me with Ginger at its head.

"What were you doing out here?" Ginger inquired curious as Norvain knelt by the water.

"I was about to ask you the same thing…it hasn't been an hour," I stated turning towards Norvain who had knelt down by the oasis to drink, "I wouldn't drink out of there…what are you doing here anyway."

"We were sent here to deliver a letter to someone at the oasis," Ginger answered simply, "Now what are you doing here?"

"Hunting," I answered cryptically, "and as of the moment it has nothing to do with you."

"Whatever," Ginger sighed realizing it would be easier to get water from rocks than to try and force an answer from me, "Where is this woman we're supposed to deliver the letter to anyway?"

"Who asked you to deliver it?" I inquired pulling Norvain away from the oasis as I knew full well what lived in its depths.

"The Don sent us," Kara answered glaring at me.

"Why won't you let me have a drink damn it," Norvain whined not noticing the water start bubbling, "Do you know how annoying it is to have to put up with all of these things…like the author's incompetence and lack of description."

"I'm sorry who?" I stated confused as the bubbling became greater, "Don't tell me this is one of your seer moments."

"It doesn't mat…why is the water bubbling?" Norvain asked completely dropping the subject as a giant purple frog…or a toad maybe burst from the water, "I'm so glad I didn't drink from that water."

"Is this Revelka?" Yulie inquired curious.

"That would be a yes," I yawned as Ginger held out the letter which she took with her tongue and dove back under water.

"I guess that's it," Ginger commented confused.

"3…2…1," I counted as Revelka burst from under the water when I finished counting…she even had a letter.

"I think she wants you to take it Leonard," Yulie told Ginger as he took it.

I sighed as we began the return trip back to Albana…the monsters still did not approach even though the fire in my eyes had gone out…apparently they were smart enough to realize that they were outclassed.

"Why are you covered in dried mu…wait that's blood!" Yulie shouted in shock, "Why are you covered in blood?"

"My hunting took me into a Magi encampment…It was the most entertaining thing I've done all day," I sighed bored out of my mind already due to lack of conflict. As we approached the gates of Albana my world seemed to take on the quality of water and I stumbled but was caught by Norvain who helped steady me…but as quickly as the occurrence had appeared it disappeared.

"Are you okay?" Norvain inquired grasping my arm but quickly withdrawing his hand when it came into contact with my wound, "You're injured!"

"It's fine Norvain," I told him with a shrug, "I'll have it checked out when we're in Albana."

As we entered Albana I told the others that I would meet them at the eastern gates once I had my arm looked at. I took off into one of the alley ways and soon found myself at a healers who quickly sewed the wound shut for a minimal fee…I quickly left for the eastern gate and only had to wait a few minutes for the others to arrive…and telling from the smile on Ginger's face it must have gone well.

"We can use crafting posts now," Ginger commented, "but we still have to pay for them."

"Forgive me if I don't jump for joy," I yawned as we set out for the ruins.

"Damn it another sandstorm," Ginger complained as Yulie began spitting out sand.

I sighed and set out across the desert feeling strangely tired even though I knew I had had a good night's sleep…**I need to focus…but I don't feel too well…damn it you're a warrior focus. **We set off across the desert managing to evade the monsters who were now out in force due to the setting sun but as we approached the ruins I saw about a dozen Magi soldiers standing there waiting for us. I drew my sabre as everyone drew their weapons and we charged them…I cut down the first with a little flourish while Norvain cut two in halve horizontally by hurling both his weapons, Eldore cleaved a man in two, while Ginger simply cut down two who had turned to flee, and Yulie pierced three of them through the heads with her arrows while Kara cut down the remaining ones with her rapier…she was showing combat skills she had not shown when we fought her. We approached the ruins to see a group of people standing there…They were Shapur, the midget Belcitane, the princess, and several Magi soldiers…as we approached I saw Belcitane grab Cisna's neck when he saw us approach.

"Stop right there or I'll snap her neck like a twig," Belcitane threatened which brought us to a stop all for different reasons.

My reason was that if she died I didn't get paid…yes I'm that shallow…Norvain was following my league, and Ginger, Eldore, Yulie, and Kara we're actually worried about her safety.

"There's a good boy," Belcitane taunted, "Now be a good boy and place the ark on the ground."

"Let Cisna go first," Ginger barked.

"You're in no position to bargain," Belcitane snarled as I tried to figure who I wanted to kill more Belcitane or Shapur.

Ginger pulled back his lips into a snarl as he did as he was told and set his ark on the ground and backed away.

"Now release Cisna!" Ginger shouted…**Naïve fool…**

"Now when did we agree to that?" Belcitane laughed reaching for the gauntlet…**How did this idiot outsmart me?...**but when he touched it there was a flash of light which gave Cisna the chance she needed to escape and Ginger grabbed his ark.

"For someone trying to collect the arks you sure are ill informed," I laughed coldly.

"What happened?" Belcitane shouted confused.

"Only the ark's Pactmaker can touch it." Eldore commented dryly.

"Fine then," Belcitane shouted as three of the Magic soldiers stepped forward, "I'll just remove it from your corpses."

"Adveni!" the soldiers shouted in unison touching the cards to their foreheads and transforming into Gigantes…**Gigases…Gigantes…What is a plural Gigas anyway?...**

I saw Belcitane heading into the ruins but Shapur stood there his blade once again clutched in his hand and a taunting grin on his face.

"You're all on your own," I snarled drawing my own sabre as I began walking towards Shapur who had placed himself on the edge to my left.

Ginger looked shocked but Norvain grabbed his arm a shook his head and pointed to the Gigantes bearing down on them…but I focused all of my attention on the enemy in front of me.

"Looks like I will be able to collect that bounty today," I snarled raising my sabre as once again we crossed our blades.

"I think it will be interesting to see you fall," Shapur laughed cruelly, "How will your poor kingdom function then."

Shapur struck first but I blocked him and quickly batted aside his strike and answered with a strike of my own which he promptly blocked but it forced him back a couple of steps…he may have been the faster out of the two of us but I was the stronger…or at least I should be…my attacks seemed to be hitting with less and less force…my attacks began to slow down and my breathing became labored…**What the hell is going on…why is it getting so difficult to fight…wait…shit…** I looked up as I realized what had happened I'd been-

"You're right," Shapur taunted, "but the poison took longer to affect you than I thought."

He simply backhanded me as my body itself seemed to begin to slowly deteriorate as I fell to my knees…my very world darkening around me…

"Eddoe," was all I heard from Norvain as I passed out.

**…In…The…Darkness…I…Could…Hear…The…Conflict…**

**_-Third Person View of Battlefield-_**

Norvain looked over to see Eddoe collapse in a heap…

"Eddoe," He shouted not believing what his eyes saw…Eddoe the greatest warrior he knew had fallen and we had barely felled the three Gigantes…

Yulie shouted something drawing everyone's attention for Belcitane had reappeared on the battlefield with two soldiers dragging a young girl behind them.

"No," Kara yelled as to everyone's shock the three Gigantes rose to their feet.

"I think it's time we end this…for you see one can fuse Gigantes but," Belcitane chuckled pulling out a card and placing it before the young girls head, "They require a human sacrifice…Adveni!"

There was a giant explosion of energy and where the young girl and the Gigantes had been was a giant three head quadruped beast.

"What person does that to another human being," Leonard shouted.

"What a sick man…Eddoe was right…they can't be reasoned with," Norvain sighed, "Leonard it's up to you…you're the only one who can win this battle."

"Right," Leonard shouted as the rest of them fell back and he transformed himself into the White Knight.

Leonard charged the beast but Norvain could already tell that he had no chance against it for no matter how much damage he could deliver he would always leave himself open…in only a matter of seconds the beast had launched Leonard into a ruined statue seemingly knocking him out…but something strange was in the air…Norvain sensed ancient magic and as he turned around he saw Cisna standing there performing a chant and only in a few short seconds Leonard was back on his feet but this time he had a shield for the statue he had slammed into had hidden the White Knights Shield…as Leonard fought the beast he would use the shield to fend of the creatures attacks but even then it was a close thing…Leonard barely managed to defeat the creature and as everyone ran to congratulate him Norvain ran to the unmoving form that was Eddoe…as Norvain knelt next to his friend they all heard a scream and turned to see Shapur and Belcitane with the princess held prisoner and once again boarding their monoship…after they escaped Kara joined us and Leonard wanted to set off immediately but Norvain convinced him not too as he was worried about Eddoe's health and did not think moving him was a good idea so we set up camp in an area of the ruins where there were some collapsed pillars to give us some shelter from the elements…and he prayed that his friend would be all right.

Here Ends Chapter 6…I know the toad part is kind of hard to understand but if you've played the game it makes sense…for those who haven't Leonard and his group attempt to meet with the Don of Albana but his guards (Who are bipedal toads) refuse to let them through so Leonard and company end up wasting a huge amount of time running this note just get to an eastern gate pass when the gate they entered through is (if I remember correctly) closer to the ruins. Well when they receive their audience with the Don they find that he's a giant frog/toad married to one of the little bipedal ones but he's cheating on her with the one from the oasis…the toads use Leonard and company as a scapegoat to get the Don off by stating a false letter that states the toad from the oasis is not in love with the Don and doesn't want to see him anymore which is partially true as the actual letter states that while she loves the Don she can't leave her oasis or she'll dry up and die…the Don rewards Leonard & Co. by giving them access to binding stations…for a small fee. Now back to the after chapter look back…Eddoe was finally defeated but not by a warrior but by a poison and now even after the battle is over he may very well be fighting for his life and even if he survives who knows what negative effects that poison will have on him. Also Kara's weapon in this story will be Rapiers as they seem more her style as she seems only to use one sword most of the time whenever she's NPC controlled. And for those who've played the game I hope you enjoyed the hints I'm throwing in there about what happens in the future of this story…

Also the tournament thing is still open and we have our first character who is not one of mine but the OC of Mr. Buck Buck and his OC is named **William Vermillion III. If you want more information on this character check out his story.**

**In the tournament I will take a total of two more OC's but if I do not receive enough the tournament will still commence but probably not be as interesting as it could be.**

**Also if you liked this story check out some of my others please…this is the only story I'm writing that's getting any real attention and I don't really think my other stories are that bad but no one seems to comment about them and without feedback whether positive or constructive criticism I cannot grow as an author.**

**Also if any of you can tell me how you're liking Norvain please tell me…I actually find him quite funny and am wondering if he's doing his job right.**

**Thanks for your time…remember read and review.**

**New Characters**

**Kara**

**Bio-A woman from Albana that was hire to assassinate Leonard and company but was defeated…she later claims that the Magi had her sister hostage so Leonard agrees go help her…they fail so she joins Leonard on his quest to seek revenge for her sister's death. She is skilled with Rapiers and Sabers.**

**Race-Human**

**Gender-Female**

**Shapur**

Bio-A Farian working for the Magi…little is known about him except that Eddoe hates him…Eddoe may know more about him if he recovers.

Race-Farian

Gender-Male

Belcitane

Bio-A short human mage who assassinated Archduke Dalem and is actively hunted by Eddoe…he is a powerful mage and a leader in the Magi but otherwise little is known about him…Eddoe often refers to him as Midget due to his stature.

Race-Human

Gender-Male


	9. Chapter 7

Chapter 7-My Homeland?

_I awoke to see the sunlight filtering through the window into my room…I was lying in a very comfortable bed with crimson silk sheets and satin covers…I was trying to recall the dream I just had…__**I was fighting a Farian…there was a giant white suit of armor…and what were those creatures we were fighting…**__I rose as I began dressing excitement rising in me as I remembered what I was going to do today…__**Father promised to take me hunting today…I can't wait to feel the wind once again as we ride to the woods…**__I was an avid hunter and a skilled marksmen…after all I was trained since I was five to hit marks that where only about half a foot in diameter from a distance of thirty yards with my bow…I was also a skilled swordsmen and tactician…after all when my father retired I would be taking his place as the leader my precious homelands military…I heard the doors open and turned to see my loyal attendant enter…he was an older gentlemen in about his late forties and wearing a beautifully designed blue coat…he walked in a small smile on his face…though he wasn't blood he was family and had taken care of me since I was little…after my mother died…he was like a favorite uncle rather than a servant._

_"Abraham," I chuckled to myself, "I'm so excited that father's taking me hunting with him."_

_"I glad to hear your excited my lord," Abraham stated with a slight bow, "I sure he wanted to spend time with you before you both left for Balandor."_

_I grinned thinking about it…it would be the tenth year anniversary since my homeland had brought an end to the conflict with its newest weapon…The Incorruptus…it was an ancient weapon that was last used by an ancient empire but we had brought these weapons back to life…I remember what my father said about these battles…he had been there using the first Incorrupti that had been completed…he told me of how both armies froze when the entire force of my homeland had come down upon them so soon after thwarting an invasion by an unknown enemy…tens of thousands of soldier and twenty or so Incorruptus and how they placed themselves between the advancing armies and forced them to listen to reason…they opened Balandor's and Faria's eyes that day ten years ago…my father was a war hero…and I was the his son a skilled and proud warrior in my own right...thoughts such as these danced through my head as I began putting on my hunting armor…it was similar to an armor found in the city of Greede that was called Liberty Armor except instead of black mine was a deep forest green…I smiled as I removed my ornate bow from its coverings…it was a masterfully crafted long bow plated in bright orange metal designed after the phoenix…my homeland's most beloved creature._

_"Your father is waiting for you in the town square," Abraham stated smiling, "Be careful on your hunt my lord and good luck."_

_He bowed to me as I walked through the door…he was like family but no matter how much we told him it was alright if he didn't act so subservient he told us that it was an honor to serve such a noble family…I walked through the halls of the palace receiving bows and greetings of your highness as I passed by people…I was a prince after all…but I was extremely nervous when I passed three knights who were walking in sync with each other…they were wearing the same armor of are other soldiers except that theirs were completely blood red as were their cloaks which had hoods that shadowed their faces…on their gauntlets glimmered a strange crystal set into it…these men were Arc bearers and some of the most feared soldiers in my homelands military…I exited the palace which brought to me the sight of the busy streets below…my glorious homeland…my Valeria…_

_"A beautiful sight," I sighed as I walked down the marble steps leading to the square where my father sat upon a white horse with a beige one standing near him the reins held in the hands of one of the palace guards who was talking with my father._

_"Lord Eddoe," the guard stated handing me the reins, "I was just speaking to your father about the celebration…I believe congratulations are in order."_

_"Congratulations?" I stated confused, "About what?"_

_"It's a surprise son," my father stated quickly while the guard looked shocked, "I'll tell you about it when we leave for Balandor."_

_I nodded as we rode out of the city trying to figure out what was the surprise…I noticed that my father was not wearing his commanders armor but was instead wearing an Aeros Kirtle and on his back sat a dragon bone longbow…my father and I were avid hunters but rarely did we ever hunt together preferring to instead to hunt alone with me at night and my father during the morning…this would be the first time we hunted together…_

**_-One Hour Later-_**

_I was steadily and silently making my way through the brush while my father moved through the trees like a cat…we were hoping to flush out a group of deer that rested somewhere in the brush…we both knew that our horses would only be able to carry one deer each…I looked up as I heard rustling and saw four deer break out from underneath the brush…I brought back the arrow knocked on the bow and let it fly straight into the heart of a buck as my father's arrow struck a fleeing doe…we quickly left the woods with our catch over our shoulders…and returned to the capital._

**_-Several hours later-_**

_The low hum of the magically charged engines as our monoship winged its way to Balandor echoed in my ears as I wandered the ship…even by monoship the travel to Balandor would take a couple of days…so I had time to kill as I walked the beautifully designed hallways…the carpet muffling the sound of my leather knee high boots…I was wearing black pants, a white shirt, a light yellow vest, and white leather gloves…I was making my way to the training deck where my guards were practicing in case something happened at the celebration…my father was in his room more than likely reading…I knew he was trying to figure out how to make the monoships better because we were only creating them from the remnants of the ancient empires technology…we found remnants of their weapons and technology all over the vale…unearthed after the cataclysm seventeen years ago…we found tunnels that went miles underground and held amazing artifacts of the past…ancient monoships, floating magic cannons, tanks that fired shells filled to the brim with magic, and magicks thought lost to the modern day…and we had them…we had a power that very nearly conquered the world ten thousand years previous…in the Dogma Age…an age I thirsted to be in…of magicks so strange that they were unthinkable…my homeland was actually a small fragment that had rebelled against the ancient empire and sided with its enemies…as well as following Madoreas's youngest son who became the first king of Valeria… what could have driven a son to turn on his father…I would never betray my father…would I? I walked into the training room to see several of my guards practicing…they were wearing sentinel armor with red cloth instead of blue and bright burnished golden plate armor…they were my guardians…and I was glad to have them to guard my back. I walked towards one named Ziron Talon who was only a year older than me and one of my best friends…he turned and smiled at me when I approached him._

_"So my lord are you ready for today's training?" he inquired of me._

_"Of course Ziron," I chuckled drawing my sword…it was a specially designed guardsmen sword that had a hand guard instead of the standard cross hilt…it was designed for thrusts rather than slashes._

_Ziron drew his blade…a standard unchanged guardsmen sword and we stood facing each other with our blades crossed…I struck first batting aside his sword and lunging forward as he blocked and twirled away aiming a slash at my head but I simply blocked it and kicked him in the midsection to put some distance between us…we circled each other looking for an opening in each other's defenses…I lunged forward in testing his defenses but he didn't take the feint and back pedaled out of range instead of attacking…I was in for a long fight._

**_-Thirty Minutes Later-_**

_It was a long battle but it eventually ended in my victory…we both left the training room after that and headed to the observation deck…a glass room meant for recreation…we laughed and talked catching up on the events around the kingdom and gazed out upon the setting sun…but soon we went our separate ways with me returning to my room and him heading back to the training field…I lay back down in my bed and let sleep take me…_

**Where am I…what is this darkness…am I dead…**

_Ye who shall inherit the legacy of the ancients…know now that no path is set in stone…two paths stand before you…_

**Who are you…what do you want…**My eyes began to adjust and I saw a man with silver hair standing there in ornate black robes and holding a staff…

_Ye shall know in time…_

**Wait don't go…**but it was too late…the strange being was gone…and I was rushing upwards towards a light…

**That was one hell of a dream…at least I think it was a dream.**

"Do you think he's going to be alright?" a voice I recognized as Gingers asked, "It's already been an entire day."

"I won't abandon him," Norvain hissed angrily.

"I know you don't want too," Eldore stated calmly, "but we may not have a choice in the matter…he has not improved in all this time."

"I won't aband-," Norvain snarled.

"Will you shut up," I whispered hoarsely drawing a gasp from all present.

"You're alive," Norvain cried, "I knew you'd recover…I'm mean the author just can't kill off the main character."

"I'm not even going to ask you what the hell you're taking about," I sighed sitting up slowly as pain shot through my body, "God I feel like I've been pounded into jelly by a troll."

Norvain and Eldore helped me to my feet and I quickly noted that my body was in pain but didn't seem to be anything serious…at least not yet.

"I'm pretty banged up so by my estimation I'll only be at 50% fighting strength for a while," I chuckled as I limped to the edge of the ruins the sun beating down upon us, "Are we just going to stand here or chase your damn princess through the Flanders?"

"How the hell do you know where she's going?" Ginger asked, "You were unconscious the whole time!"

"You'd be surprised how much you here in a fevered state," I chuckled as we set out…it would be a dangerous journey especially with me only at half my strength but I figured that I should be fine…at least for a little bit…we set out for the Flanders Trail and I knew that we would be facing some of the most dangerous creatures there…Dragons…

**-One hour Later on the Flanders Trail-**

"Where setting up camp here," Eldore ordered as I sat down winded.

We were only a mile or so into the Flanders and I was exhausted so without even setting up my tent I fell asleep outside under the stars…the world of dreams taking me again…and they were much less strange than my earlier one.

Chapter 7-My Homeland?! Is now over…thanks for reading and reviewing and I know that this chapter is short compared to my other chapters but it is meant as bridge between the Flanders Trail and the fight with the Magi in the desert…also the first part is an alternate universe where Valeria never fell and what the impacts of it hold…if it gets enough support I'll start a story for the alternate world…thanks for reading. But the information gathered in this chapter is important…Eddoe the strongest member of this team has been severely weakened by poison and only capable of fighting at about half of his full power…how will this affect the group going forward…because those of you who've played the game know what dangerous enemies plague the Flanders Trail and for those of you that haven't…let's just say Eddoe's wish from chapter 1 is about to come true…


	10. Chapter 8

Chapter 8-The Dragon's Pass

I awoke in the morning with sore limbs and a splitting headache…I also felt my body react sluggishly to the commands my mind gave it even though my mind was still reacting at normal speeds…I knew that this was due to the poison that Shapur had used on me and I knew that I would be like this for a couple of days at least…it all depended on the poison Shapur used and if I could come up with an antidote or inhibitor to block the effects. **I hate my damn life…how many times does this mean I've been poisoned…52 times I think…it's hard to keep track nowadays.** I looked around to see my allies already up and preparing to advance forward.

"How do you feel?" Eldore questioned helping me to my feet.

"Terrible," I commented stretching, "I feel like I have the flu."

"Is it really that bad?" Ginger asked looking concerned.

"No it's a barrel full of freaking laughs," I stated sarcastically coughing into my armored hand.

"You don't have to be so rude," Yulie hissed at me.

"Unlike most people I won't deny my nature," I stated coldly crossing my arms in front of me, "I will never lie and say that I'm a good, kind, or even likable person…but I will say that I'm an ally and wholeheartedly devoted to this mission…so whether you like me or not you're stuck with me."

I knew they would have trouble reading me emotionally due to the fact that I still wore my mask…fact is I wouldn't take it off until we arrived back in civilization. I turned and began to walk down the path with Norvain walking next to me gazing off to our left…his eyes were strangely unfocused…but I continued walking as I heard more footsteps behind us and I glanced back to see Kara walking hurriedly to catch up with us.

"So what is your reason for traveling with them?" Kara inquired of me.

"I've been paid for a mission," I answered simply never breaking my brisk pace.

"So you're nothing more than a mercenary," Kara stated in shock, "but you seem to have more military skill than that of some common merc."

"I'm more than some common mercenary," I snarled insulted, "I've brought down entire armies without a single casualty."

"I've never heard of you," she stated walking off as I stood there in stunned silence…the rest of the group passed ahead of us…completely unafraid of what I knew lie ahead.

"Wait," Norvain yelled running after them, "You shouldn't get that far ahead of us."

"Why?" Ginger inquired…did this kid never study his surroundings.

"This area is crawling with some of the most dangerous creatures in the known world," I stated covering my mouth as I fell into another coughing fit.

"Like what?" Ginger inquired curious.

"Ice Giants, boars, dragons, and other large lizards," I commented dryly, "and who knows what else lurks in these mountains…most of the tunnels and caves are uncharted."

Ginger shook his head and sighed as we set off again…how could stuff like this be happening again…**I hate being the bearer of bad news…but they have to know what they'll be facing…**I stumbled slightly as a dizzy spell hit me.

"Are you all right?" Norvain asked grabbing me by my shoulder.

"I'm fine," I lied…the effects were getting worse.

Norvain said nothing…he just walked onwards with a nod but the look of concern on his face was still evident. I walked after them trying to keep the world in front of me in focus as it swam before my eyes…but then it passed as if nothing had happened…**What the hell is going on with me…what is this poison…I have to find a healer when we reach Greede…**I walked after them as they cleared a path through the monsters we encountered so far…namely boars and ice lizards…but I did my best to help by lashing out with my fire magic from a distance and when needed I would use my sabre to cut through the enemies. We were about midway through the Trail standing at a fork in the road when I realized something…there were no dragons or Ice Giants to be seen.

"Wait!" I croaked out my throat dry.

"What is it?" Kara hissed impatiently.

"Something isn't right," I stated, "Where are the giants and –_cough_- the dragons –_cough_- we should have –_cough-_ encountered some _–cough- -cough-_ by _–cough_- now."

I couldn't get another word out as I broke out into another fit of coughing.

"He's right," Eldore agreed, "We should have run into them by now…it is making me uneasy how simple the journey through the pass has been."

"Why do you two always have to be so negative?" Yulie sighed, "Maybe we're just having a lucky day."

"I don't believe in luck," I coughed out, "It's we that make our own fates not some non-present being."

"Not really," Norvain stated smiling slightly, "It's actually the auth-,"

"You say anything about an author and I'll kick your ass," I threatened, "I don't even know where you get half of this crap from."

"You two are strange," Kara sighed bluntly, "Do they always argue like this."

"Who knows," Yulie sighed, "We met Norvain when you did."

"Well I'll have you know…wait did any of you hear that?" I inquired slightly uneasy…I could have sworn that I heard a bestial shout in the distance.

"Now that you mention it I think I did hear something," Ginger commented turning towards the right path, "I think it came from over there."

Eldore barely pulled him back as a hammer came smashing down where he had been seconds ago…I looked up to see an Ice giant leaping down from the top of the pass and pick up the hammer it had hurled but that was all it could do as Norvain launched his Chakrams and surgically cut the giants head from its shoulders but I knew something was wrong as I once again heard roaring from down the right path and the thunder of several sets of heavy feet.

"We've found the Ice Giants," I snarled moving down the right path, "The rest of you continue down the left path…I'll take care of them."

"Don't," Norvain hissed grabbing my arm only to pull back as if he had been burned, "Don't do this…please."

"You had a vision earlier…didn't you?" I asked as the others hurried down the left path leaving Norvain and me on our own, "What did you see?"

"I saw you…broken and bloody…you die…," Norvain stated looking at me the fear in his eyes, "You're my best friend…and if you go down this path then you are going to perish."

I did something then that shocked him…I began laughing.

"Hahahahahaha…Norvain you've known me for years…and as such you should know by now that I don't back down," I stated beginning to walk down the path before I stopped, "I will face whatever fate awaits me…but never will I bow to it…I will fight…I will never lay down and just die…but I guess it doesn't matter anyway…I've too much to do to just die now."

"Eddoe!" Norvain shouted making to chase after me but the magic I'd been channeling into the overhang of rock above us detonated causing a rockslide to separate us.

"I'm sorry Norvain but this is my fight," I whispered to myself as I ran down the path.

I reached the area where the Ice Giants were and I counted five normal Ice Giants and a Chieftain…I drew both my Katanas and gazed skyward…**Watch over me Father…**I charged the Ice giants which because of my sudden attack allowed me to leap up the firsts body and with a single blow remove its head from its shoulders but by now the others had recovered and one swung at me…normally I'd be able to dodge the attack but the poison coursing through my body prevented me from gathering the magic to launch myself out of the way so I took a direct attack and was launched into the side of the wall…as I hit I felt blood gush from my mouth as I bit the tip off of my tongue...I was imbedded into the wall by about a foot…I was astounded that I was still alive…an Ice Giant closed as if to rectify this and smashed his fist into me…again and again…I was on the edge consciousness…the giant brought its hammer back to finish me…and swung…a piercing unnatural shriek echoed across the battlefield…and I knew no more…

-Strange world-

I stood on a platform surrounded by floating ruins…it was like the world from my previous dreams except that this one was covered in fire…great pillars of flame would erupt from the areas below…I looked around confused…but then I realized something was strange…I wasn't wearing my armor but some sort of strange attire…covering my right side was a cloak made of red feathers tipped with gold, a wide brimmed hat, leather boots with the toe pointing upwards, a metal pauldron covering my left shoulder, and a strange over crimson overcoat. The visible arm of the overcoat was shaped like a funnel at the top and remained narrow until it reached the midpoint of the forearm where it once again widened into a bell like shape and I was wearing dress gloves that held the same color as bleached bones. The main body of the overcoat was made of a sturdy yet comfortable cloth material and extended like a trench coat down the left side while on the right side it stopped at the hip…to whole over coat was crimson red. I was also wearing crimson pants of the same material that were tucked into the boots. I reached up to my face to feel it covered in a metal helmet but I could not tell what it was made from…that's when I heard the thunderous footfalls and turned to see five black knaves and an elite knave…I searched for my weapon but couldn't find it and the enemies were closing in on me…I raised my left hand and words of a foreign language spilled unbidden from my lips…and a beam of super-heated magma erupted from my hand and burned a hole through one of the charging knaves which fell to the ground with a gaping hole in its chest…I evaded a wild slash from the elite by leaping into the air with inhuman speed and strength and landed on another knaves head and placed my hand on its head and melted it with unnatural heat…I turned to see the last two knaves hesitate until the chieftain motioned them forward and they both attacked me at once…I threw back the feathered cloak to reveal a hand with thinner fingers that were more like claws than fingers…a wheel of fire began to circle my normal hand as I charged the two knaves…I launched the fire spell which completely incinerated the first knave and stumbled the second and by the time it recovered I had already pierced its chest with the claws…as I pulled them out the knave fell back leaving only the elite to deal with…I turned towards it but before I could do anything a great bird flew up from underneath the platform and ripped the knave to pieces in its talons…I gazed in awe at the creature before me…it had crimson feathers tipped in gold…**like my cloak**…and its eyes were a stormy grey in color but otherwise it was the very creature my people revered as a symbol of hope and rebirth…the Phoenix…I gazed in awe as the phoenix opened its mouth and the unnatural shriek once again rang through the area but unlike the other one this had a beautiful musical quality to it…my world faded black once more…

-Flanders Trail-

I regained consciousness and strangely found myself standing surrounded by the corpses of the fallen Ice Giants…I was confused…how was I still alive…and what had killed them…had it really been a legendary phoenix I had heard before I passed out…that's when I remembered my armor…as I checked myself over I realized that I was no longer wearing the strange attire but I was back in my original armor with all of my weapons sheathed…I sighed feeling relief wash through me…but then a blood curdling roar ripped through the trails from further in…I leapt up the ridge leading into a cave not noticing the wounds on the giants where similar to the ones I inflicted on the knaves and hoping that whatever roared was not attacking my allies…

_-Norvain's perspective (just after leaving Eddoe behind)-_

I couldn't believe that he had just done that…that he had just collapsed the path to prevent him from following…**you fool…my visions have never been wrong…**once again the scene flashed through my mind's eye…Eddoe lying among the stones on the path…he was staring up at his attackers…blood dripped down his armor…his right arm extended at a strange angle that clearly revealed that it was broken and his mask was lying nearby smashed to bits…but the look on his face was what terrified me the most…the fire gleaming in his eyes…the utter defiance…then as the giant swung fire obscured my vision…and that was the end of it…and then something strange happened when I tried to stop him…when I grabbed him I felt an energy course through my body that burned like fire…what was that power?

"Norvain…are you alright?" Yulie inquired.

"I'm fine," I lied.

"If you're sure," she sighed as we continued onwards.

We continued down the path with me feeling highly guilty about leaving my lord and friend behind…hell guilt didn't even cover half of what I was feeling…we reached another fork and I saw something that shocked me…running along a ledge above us were two magi soldiers but before we could react they had already gone.

"What the hell are they doing here?" Yulie hissed.

"The Flanders are a top breeding ground for dragons," I stated before asking a question, "They're after the Incorrupti aren't they?"

"Yes," Leonard stated, "but what does that have to do with anything?"  
"I remember Eddoe telling me that there was an Incorruptus being guarded by an ancient dragon," I told them, "and as the Flanders have a huge dragon population…it would make sense that they'd be checking here…it might even explain why they're heading in this direction."

"We don't have time to go hunting after another knight," Leonard shouted.

"I see why Eddoe dislikes you so much," I sighed, "You don't think at all."

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Leonard shouted.

"The magi are holding your precious princess…and are looking for the dragon's arc," I stated calmly, "So if we find the arc we'll find your princess or some Magi who can tell us where she is."

I felt exasperated as Leonard continued to complain and grouse about the logic of my statement.

"Is he always such an idiot?" I whispered to Eldore who merely shrugged.

We continued down the right path which eventually led us into an area overlooking a circular basin…Yulie and Leonard gazed out over it in awe.

"Where's Greede?" Leonard questioned.

"It's down there," I yawned…I'd been to Greede several times and it special property had quickly lost its fascination and had now become a major annoyance.

"What's that!?" Yulie shouted as the city came into view through the clouds.

It was a huge city that had gain technological superiority over all of the other nations due to lucrative trade deals it had with Valeria though its power was nowhere near that of Valeria…the most surprising trait of this city was that it was mounted on the back of a beast known as the Demithor…and this trait was what made the city nearly impossible to attack let alone capture.

"Wow," Leonard stated in awe, "It's sitting on the back of a monster."

"Perceptive," I sighed.

"That is the free city of Greede," Eldore stated gruffly, "It has never been conquered by another kingdom…not even Valeria."

"That's because we never tried," I stated defensively, "We thought that they would make a better trading partner rather than a conquered kingdom."

Before the conversation could continue an inhuman screech ripped through the pass causing all of us to look around in a panic…**That sounded avian…**

"We should get going," I stated ushering the others further down the path.

"What was that?" Kara stated as we took off running down the path.

"Nothing I've ever heard," I shouted to her, "and I've been down these trails a dozen times before."

We were emerging from a cave when I heard something that made my blood turn cold…the flapping of large leathery wings…I looked up to see a great black dragon barreling down us…we barely evaded it but it once again rose into the sky and began to turn around.

"Something's wrong," Eldore stated unsure of himself, "Dragon's don't attack unless provoked."

"Why don't you tell him that," I shouted hiding behind a rock with Yulie as the dragon let loose a jet of purplish flame, "Leonard what the hell are you waiting for…activate your damned Incorruptus."

He nodded as he leapt from behind another set of rocks that he and Eldore had taken shelter behind and began reciting his incantation but that's when it hit me…Kara was nowhere in sight. Leonard now in his white knight form charged the dragon shredding its left wing with a well-aimed thrust grounding the dragon but in response it shot another jet of flame which Leonard caught on his shield but the properties of this magically enhance flame caused it to act similarly to water when it connected with the shield and spray around it…lighting Leonard's cape on fire and forcing us to once again take cover.

"Shit," Leonard shouted in a panic as he tried to put out his cape but all this distraction allowed was the dragon to slam its heavy tail into him and push him backwards.

"He doesn't stand a chance at this rate," I stated as red projectiles rained down from the sky, "What the hell was that!?"

I looked up to see Ebon-Wings floating in the air for a second before landing behind the dragon and attacking it…and saving Leonard from being barbecued.

"Wait, I don't remember him ever being our ally," I shouted.

"I don't understand why is he helping us!?" Leonard shouted lunging at the dragon once again.

"Who knows," I shouted back feeling my mind pulled on slightly by my powers, "Must be a system glitch."

"A what?" Eldore shouted back confused.

"Just never mind," I stated rummaging through my satchel for something, "Ah here it is."

I pulled out a glass flask with an aquamarine colored liquid in it which I then threw at the dragon…as the glass shattered a huge explosion ripped through the area and when I once again looked there was Leonard frozen in place.

"What the hell as that!" Yulie shouted smacking me in the back of the head.

"I must have messed up the formula," I stated rummaging through my pack and pulled out a neon orange colored one, "Alchemy was never my strong suit."

I whipped this one as another blinding light flashed over the battlefield and when it cleared Leonard was standing there unfrozen. The dragon was still in a daze from the blasts which gave Leonard ample time to overpower the beast but before he could finish it Yulie ran towards him.

"Leonard don't," She yelled, "it's beaten…I-I don't think it will bother us again."

"Ok Yulie," He answered but as he was backing away a bright red light surrounded the dragon incinerating, "What the…you bastard."

Before Leonard could attack the Black knight had already examined the corpse and muttered something about it not being here either and took off into the air. Leonard was unable to begin his pursuit so he deactivated his Incorruptus.

"I guess you're right," He admitted turning towards me with a grim look, "They are after the Dragon's Ark…but our priority is still the princess."

With that we set off with Kara quickly catching put to us saying she had been knocked down the path by the dragon's attack...I thought there was something strange about her story but I did not press her for details…I was too worried about my friend. We arrived at the docks that would allow us to board the transports to Greede but I refused to leave.

"Look we don't have time for this," Leonard snarled at me, "Eddoe has become nothing but a liability ever since the Lagnish…we should just leave him behind."

"Leonard!" Yulie yelled, "That was uncalled for!"

"You're right…he has become a liability," I stated truthfully but when I began my second part malice dripped from my voice, "but do you know what you are all the time boy…a god damned danger to everyone…you don't think at all you just attack, attack, and attack…You're so wrapped up in your own damned fears that you ignore those who have chosen to help you."

He was stunned by my switch in personality…I was normally a happy go lucky young man but I'd had enough of this child.

"None of us have to be here Leonard," I snarled at him turning my back towards him, "but we've all chosen to be here and even though there all for different reasons we've chosen to fight the odds with you and struggle onwards…and besides where would you have been if not for Eddoe…more than likely lying dead in the Lagnish somewhere."

"We could make it through without him," Leonard snarled back, "I could destroy anyone with the power of my knight…we don't need him."

"Is that so?" a voice stated coldly behind him, "Why don't you prove it here and now Ginger."

I turned to see a ghost…it was Eddoe and he had the tip of his sabre resting against the back of Leonard's neck.

-Perspective switch Eddoe-

I had made my way to the docks a couple minutes ahead of the others after I witnessed them battling the dragon and sat there waiting in the shadows…so I had heard the entire argument.

"Well Ginger," I taunted removing my sword from his neck, "What's it going to be?"

He turned the panic evident in his eyes…but also a glimmer of defiance as he drew his sword.

"So be it," I snarled batting aside his blade and punching him in the gut as Yulie screamed but Eldore grabbed her and held her back, "This has been an event a long time in the making."

He swung at me but I simply sidestepped and smashed my fist into his face busting his lip and I followed this up with a kick to the stomach. He quickly regained his composure and charged me but I rose my sabre to stop him and we locked blades but it did not last long as I slammed my knee into his crotch causing him to cry out as I elbowed him in the temple laying him out on the ground.

"You cheated," He groaned through tears.

"Cry me a river," I stated the coldness in my eyes could only be matched by the bitterest of winters, "Do you really expect your enemies not to use every advantage or tactic given to them."

"But you're not my enemy," He stated trying to get up only for me to knock him down.

"By raising your blade against me you've declared yourself my enemy," I stated kicking his sword out of his grasp, "What you decide now will determine whether I remain that way or if I once again take up the mantle of your ally…don't expect an apology to suffice."

"I won't abandon her," Ginger stated getting to his knees, "I'll never stop fighting to rescue her."

"Your will, dreams, and goals will never be enough to grant you victory," I stated as he once again collapsed, "What will allow you to achieve victory are allies…and the willingness to take their advice into account."

As I said this I sheathed my blade and extended my hand towards him to help him to his feet.

"Why?" Leonard stated taking my hand as I helped him to his feet and began leading him towards the docks.

"Because I believe in giving second chances," I whispered calmly, "and if you're willing to listen to those following you then I'm willing to follow wherever you lead…Leonard."

"Wow…I'm shocked," Leonard chuckled understanding the magnitude of my statement…if he acted like a real leader rather than a child I would gladly follow him, "Where did that come from."

"If you tell anyone I'll through you off a cliff," I threatened completely serious.

I brought him to the healer who was stationed at the docks and who had healed the majority of my wounds…he was patched up as we waited at the docks for the transport and it was during this time that Norvain approached me with a smile on his face.

"How long have you planned something like this?" He inquired of me.

"Since Albana when he let Kara live," I sighed, "That Naivety will get him killed…but it is also one of his greatest strengths."

"So instead of making him as cold and heartless as you, you decided to attempt to open his eyes to the fact that he's not alone."

"Yes…and I saw how he panicked against that dragon."

"I'm not even going to bother and ask why you didn't help…but I knew that if you survived you would be watching the battle."

We continued to chat like the old friends that we were when the transport arrived…a great serpent like beast with six wings…**I always wondered what this creature is…is it a lizard or an insect…**I boarded the wooden carriage that the creature carried and all sat down…with me sitting on the floor in the very middle of the carriage.

"I always hate this part," I sighed.

"Why?" Yulie began as the transport began to shudder, "What's wrong with iiiittttt!"

This last part was caused by the transport taking off and plummeting a hundred feet in a few seconds before rising up to a stable height…and I changed nearly every shade of green imaginable.

"There's no feeling in the world like flying," Norvain cheered, "Don't you agree?"

"If man was meant to fly he'd have been born with wings," I groaned covering my mouth causing everyone to laugh.

In the distance the city of Greed continued to rise in the distance as we swiftly approached it hoping to find some trace of the magi and the princess.

So here ends chapter 8…It feels good to know how well received this story is after the last story I've started has been attacked again and again…I thank you for all the people who've reviewed and are following this story...also what happened to Eddoe when he was attacked by the Giants will be explained in the later chapters. Now story wise they are entering Greede where my tournament chapter will start so I'm putting a deadline on the OC's now…I've one last spot open so the first person to get their character in will get it (If I get two at about the same time I shall use the more detailed character)…The dead line is the 15th of June…if no more are in by that time then that position is forfeit…below is the way I would like the information I'm sent for OCs to be ordered.

**Name-**

**Gender-**

**Race-**

**Age-**

**Physical Description-**

**In Game Level-**

**Weapons-**

**Armor-**

**Unique Skills-**

**Personality-**

**Distinguishing Traits- Example: Blind, Deaf, Mute, and ect**

**Bio/History**

Also a new character had joined the ranks of the tournament is a young man named Aden who was created by and is owned by the author Luckenhaft and to warn people I will not accept OCs who state their homeland is Valeria or are using Chakrams, War Fans, Staff Blades, or Chain Scythes…all other origins are fair game…you could even have your character be a member of the Magi.

Now to answer the question of Spartan016…Yes there will be romantic entanglements for Eddoe and some of my other OCs but they will not involve any of the Canon Romances (Love triangle between Leonard, Cisna, and Yulie)…now I've a favor to ask anyone reading this if you've any question I request that you send them to me via Private Messaging as I will be able to respond quicker and in more detail…I can understand if you're not a member of this site and don't have access to the Private Messaging system but if you do please follow my request…I thank you for taking time out of your day to read this story and am proud to say that this is the story I'm most proud of so far and its people like all of you who rekindle my love of writing after its been torn apart by others…it is for all of you I write…I will leave you with a saying I heard somewhere that I say to myself when I'm feeling down…I can't remember where I heard it…It might have been on this site or I may have thought of it myself…I'm not sure.

Victory is not finale…

Defeat is not death…

The struggle is eternal…

I prefer to think of it as whether you win or lose you must continually fight for your dreams and beliefs for if you fight long and hard enough then eventually others will come to stand with you and fight alongside you…

I thank you for taking your time to read this message and story...

-Shogun of Ransei

And for those of you who've read this far…this little bonus is for you…

-Strange World-

A man in crimson red armor with feathers on the back of his helmet stood on a small floating platform only about two yards wide and three yards long…he seemed to be waiting for someone…but who could that be…he leapt from his platform as it crashed into a floating pillar and shattered…he landed on a much larger platform where another man was standing there in the center of the platform…he had pure silver slicked back hair and ornate black robes…he smiled as the man in red approached him.

"It has begun, my lord," the red knight stated kneeling, "His powers are awakening."

"Good," the man in black stated smiling warmly, "His abilities will be what lead the world towards the future."

"But what about his eye?" the knight inquired, "will he be able to withstand the strain that it will inflict on his body."

"He will survive…as his mother did before him," the man stated calmly, "and when his eye awakens what my father fears will come to pass…and she will have a warrior who is capable of destroying my father and drive his vile ambitions into the ground."

These two men gazed out into the darkness and saw a glimmer of light in the distance…that light was the people they had brought together through fate and design…the people who had the greatest chance of destroying the greatest evil the world had ever known.

"So it begins."

"Yes my friend…all of the actors have assembled…the final act of this 10,000 year-old play is about to begin…"


	11. Chapter 9

Chapter-9: Arrival in Greede/Round 1:Eddoe V.S. ?

The transport had just landed on one of the many platforms of Greede and as I stumbled out it was clear that I was abnormally green…**I hate flying…**I continued off of the transport followed by the rest of them…Norvain was snickering like an idiot and if I felt better I would have thrown him over the edge…he would survive somehow…I stood up straight and grimaced as I felt my stomach do a back flip…thankfully I hadn't eaten or I would probably be seeing it again. We continued to walk through the long corridors that were filled with people talking to new arrivals or clearly awaiting someone…I smiled to myself as I remembered my first time here and couldn't wait to see how the others reacted…and when we entered the main lobby I wasn't disappointed.

"Wow this place is huge," Yulie stated in awe.

"Of course," Norvain chuckled, "This is one of the largest trading hubs in the world…why wouldn't it be large?"

"What should we do now?" Ginger asked staring around.

"Well you three need to secure yourselves some train passes and afterward you can meet us in the Merchant's Quarter," I told them calmly, "You can find us at either the Apothecary or at the outdoor café."

With that Norvain and I stepped through the elevator doors with several others and quickly pushed the button for the second floor…after a few seconds of feeling like my stomach bottom fell out we reached the second floor and swiped our passes and passed through the turnstile. As the train doors hissed open we stepped through them and sat down in a nearby compartment where we began discussing the current status of the world as we knew it…

"So the Magi have killed both the Archduke of Faria and the King of Balandor," Norvain sighed despondently, "10 to 1 odds that they once again pick up their pointless war."

"Not if I've any say in it," I hissed angrily, "I've already got a plan set up."

"Oh and what is that?" Norvain yawned departed.

"I plan on giving them a common enemy…the Magi," I answered…the plan was simple as the Magi had already killed both leaders so all both of the nations needed was a slight push in the right direction, "Besides it's not as if they're in any real shape to pick up their war once again."

"You're right about that," Norvain sighed, "Which will make it even more difficult to oust the Magi…filthy home wreckers."

"We'll bring justice down upon them soon enough," I yawned glancing to my left which is when I saw a woman in a hooded black cloak staring intently at us, "Am I really dressed that odd that people should be staring…it's Greede after all…there should be people more odd than I."

"Why do you ask?" Norvain inquired smiling.

"There's a woman over there staring at us," I stated feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"Just ignore her," Norvain yawned…

-About ten minutes later-

We had left the train and were walking through the bustling walkways of Greede attempting to find the apothecary…with very little luck…apparently very few people knew where it was exactly in the city…it was apparently located somewhere on the second floor of the quarter so once again we jumped into the elevator and rode it to the second floor where we found dozens of stall scattered throughout the paths…as we passed by them we saw people hawking items ranging from strange and downright disturbing. There was a Paupitur selling Greaver meat steaks as well as a Strange man with a beard long enough to tuck into his belt attempting to sell a book that appeared to be made out of human flesh…I could see the freckles.

"Over here!" Norvain shouted motioning me towards a Farian woman whose booth was filled beakers, vials, and other equipment meant for brewing potions.

"So can she help us?" I inquired walking towards them both.

"Of course I can," She barked grumpily, "I just need the name of the poison and I'll begin working on the antidote for it…so what's it called?"

"Vetralis Venom mixed with about three ounces of red scorpion venom," I answered which brought an incredulous look from Norvain.

"I'm not even going to bother to ask how you know that off the top of your head," he sighed.

"When you've been poisoned as much as I've been you learn to recognize the symptoms," I stated as the woman began looking through her supplies.

"I'm sorry but I'm all out of supplies to make the antidote," she sighed looking slightly upset, "But I'm receiving a shipment in about two days…so if you wait here I'll have the antidote ready then."

"Okay then," I stated turning to walk away, "We'll meet you here in two days."

Norvain and I left the market area and soon found the café we were looking for was also on the same floor. As we sat down a waitress quickly walked over to us to ask what we'd like to order.

"I'd like some ramen, a basket of freshly baked croissants, a bottle of red wine, and a single glass," I stated smiling she nodded and turned to Norvain who just ordered a cheese and ham sandwich.

"You eat like a middle class merc but drink like a noble," Norvain chuckled as the woman walked away.

"I've more plans for the wine than just drinking it," I stated glancing over Norvain's shoulder to once again see the woman in the black cloak heading away from us towards the market place, "Our stalker is back."

"The woman in black?" Norvain asked slightly confused, "You think she's a Magi agent?"

"It's possible but I don't think she's one," I yawned causally, "She's being to careless to be a spy…but still…it makes me uneasy that we've spotted her twice now…it's a large city and the odds of us running into her accidently are astronomical."

We sat there talking for about an hour when our food arrived and we fell upon it ravenously with me eating my noodles whole…this constantly confuses Norvain and I always give him the same answer…an ancient culture believed that eating your noodles without chewing them would grant longer life…and who knows it might be true. As I finished my ramen I began to sip my wine enjoying the flavor as I munched on a fresh baked croissant with a small smile on my lips.

"I've always enjoyed a good glass of wine," I muttered tucking the bottle away in my bag as Ginger and the others approached not looking happy, "Figured out how you're going to get your meeting with the count?"

"How do you know what we're supposed to do?" Ginger groused sitting down.

"Well we're looking for dragons after all so I figured we'd be starting in the Bunker Lode Caverns," I stated taking another sip of wine, "and since it's not the mining season we need the count to give us permission to raise the Demithor."

"We figured out that the count is looking for a statue," Eldore stated picking up a croissant and beginning to nibble on it, "But we can't get a straight answer about where to get it…just that it may be being sold at a black market auction house known as the Black Cherry."

"The Black Cherry is in downtown," I stated taking another sip of wine, "It's an exclusive club so you need a card to get in…I'd take you there but my history with the proprietor is…colorful to say the least."

"In other words he means he's forbidden from entering it," Norvain chuckled, "The look on the twits face was priceless."

As the conversation concluded Ginger grabbed Yulie and began dragging her back to the train yelling something about wasting time.

"But I'm starving!" Yulie yelled as she was being dragged away and Eldore stood up with a sigh grabbing another croissant before following them.

As we started laughing a man in a red messenger's suit came up to us looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Eddoe Yonthanx, Norvain Vask?" He inquired to which we nodded, "I was told to give you these."

He handed us two envelops which when we opened them held identical letters which read as following

Dear Recipient of this Letter

If you are reading this letter then you're either the person who it was intended for or you removed it from their possession…either way you've proven yourself worthy standing against some of the greatest fighters in the known world…there is a final test though…you must reach the arena in the underground by any means necessary...attacking fellow competitors is not only allowed but encouraged…the first eight competitors to reach the arena shall be the ones allowed to continue anyone else is sent back to the surface…or they buy a ticket and become a spectator…We hope to see you there.

Signed

The Arena Master

I began to laugh out loud and soon Norvain began laughing with me…this was not the first time we'd entered this tournament and of course we knew another way in rather than the one they wanted us to take.

"Elevator?" I asked Norvain smiling.

"Elevator," he agreed returning the smile.

We paid our bill and then set out for the staircase and when we reached the second floor landing I pushed a brick on the wall revealing an older model elevator…it was known as the champions lift and anyone who'd ever won the tournament knew it was there and was allowed to use it freely…it gave them an advantage over the other competitors as well as nearly guaranteeing them a spot in fights...we stepped into the elevator and descended into the depths of the underground…

The Arena-

Norvain and I stood at the edge of the arena having already drawn our numbers…I was to fight in the first round and Norvain in the last…we weren't the only ones present…there was much to my unease the woman in the black cloak from earlier, a man who hide his face under a hood, a taller man with a great sword slung over his back, a from the jungles of the south…**What the hell is he doing here?...**and another warrior I've faced countless times before named Sai…one spot remained open but no other competitors had emerged from the underground.

"Well I'm afraid time is up," the arena master stated walking to the head of the group, "due to the selection of combatants Sai is given the pass and moves on to the semi-finals."

There was a little grousing at this from some of the other competitors but that was quickly silenced.

"Now here is the remaining pairings," the arena master yelled, "Returning Champion Eddoe Yonthanx V.S. a woman who prefers to remain unnamed for the present…the next round will be between a local warrior Aden and a warrior from the jungles of the south Jiao…the final round will be between last year's runner up Norvain Vask and William Vermillion…the winner of these fights will move on to the semi-finals…Fighters of round 1 please move to the arena…as I walked towards the arena I examined my opponent…the way she walked…the way she held herself…she seemed familiar…

As we stood out on the battlefield staring at each other it clicked…I knew who she was…and I smiled.

"Who do you think you're fooling with that disguise," I taunted which caused her to shuffle nervously, "Come on…I know you can do better than that cheap disguise…Xaidra."

"What gave me away?" she sighed throwing off her cloak revealing Blitz Guard armor and pink hair with part of it draped over the front of her right shoulder and her two weapons of choice…a double bladed sword staff and a kusarigama.

"The way you move and hold yourself is memorable," I stated calmly.

"So even after a decade you remember how I move and…hold myself," she smiled slyly, "I wonder why that's what you remember?"

"Wait…what!?" I stated feeling flustered and I knew I must be blushing horribly, "That's not what I meant!"

"I know," she stated smiling and drawing her Kusarigama, "but I enjoy watching you squirm."

"…" I was stunned into silence…the Xaidra I remembered wouldn't act like this…though she seemed to be trying to unnerve me but when she spoke there was a slight coldness to her tone.

"Wow stunned into silence…I guess that's all I should expect from you," she snarled the anger clearly visible in her eyes, "For ten years I waited for a…a letter or something from you stating that you were alive and I received nothing…for ten years I believed you to be dead…and then Farlend returns home with the Archduke's body and an outlandish tale of a ghost fighting against the Magi."

"I'm sorry you feel that way Xaidra," I sighed drawing both of my Katanas and holding them at my sides, "but I won't apologize for my actions."

"That's just like you," she hissed angrily, "Always trying to act better than everyone else…it's time you were put in your place."

"You can try," I stated raising one of my blades so the tip lined up horizontally, "But you will not be the first to regret such a move."

We stood facing each other…none of us moving as we stared each other down…a slight breeze of warm air ruffled our armor in the underground arena…

Before I could move she swung the bottom half of her

kusarigama that held the weight at me but I evaded it by rolling behind one of the four pillars that dotted the battlefield before I whirled around it and launched a fire ball at her in the hopes of catching her off guard…but much to my surprise she countered with her own spell…she raised her hand and sent out a wave of stone that overwhelmed my attack and continued towards me before it hit the pillar turning it to dust. I knew I had to remove that weapon from the equation as the distance it allowed her to strike from could prove deadly…I continued to dodge her attacks while studying the way she attacked…she had improved greatly since the last time we had fought…I was brought back to reality by a shard of earth smashing into my face and knocking my helmet clean off…as well as knocking me off of my feet but I quickly responded snarling at her through my bloodied mouth.

"You've got something in your teeth," Xaidra taunted smiling slightly.

I was breathing heavily the poison taking its toll on my body and the strenuous combat was not helping…

"You're not looking to good," she said smiling, "Maybe you should just give up."

"Why don't you save us both the trouble," I stated standing up straight, "and just shut up already."

She sneered as she once again struck out with the weighted end of the kusarigama but I expected this…as it struck the wall I stabbed the blade of one of my Katanas through the chain and then slashed it into two pieces with the other one as she tried to pull it out…and this caused her to fall down where she sat in shock.

"Now why don't you be smart and surrender," I chuckled as she stood up and drew her blade staff.

"I will never surrender," she hissed charging at me and slashing but I parried it and struck back…but I missed, "You're slowing down…are you sure you can continue?"

There was actual concern in her voice…the old Xaidra I knew…the one who cared deeply about her friends and worried near constantly about them.

"Worry about yourself," I wheezed my strength fading, "We're enemies now…fight to the end."

I raised my sword and felt myself smile…I may lose…but at least I tried.

"Life's a gamble Xaidra," I stated beginning to walk towards her while feeling a tingle behind my right eye and flipping the katana into a reverse grip, "and the only way you ever truly lose is to not place a bet."

She readied her weapon knowing that I was moving to end the battle quickly…though I doubted she knew…the poison was beginning to take serious effect on my body…I readied my weapon…flashes of memory crossing my mind…_Save us please…I'm that much closer to my own personal paradise…We'll pay just please help us…Why? Why did you kill her…I've gone through too much to just die here…__**There is no good or evil only perspective…**_I charged at her…and she charged back…our blades clashed together with a god awful shattering and I felt a shard of my katana streak by my face leaving a shallow cut just below my eye…

-Five years earlier…Southern Shu Liang Province…Sacking of the city of Bu Lei-

I stood in the bustling streets of Bu Lei…everyone was wandering around going about their daily business…but I just stood there gazing out across the streets…I was wearing a black set of mirage armor with a hood…a hand and a half sword was strapped to my side and a scowl set on my face…I was here for a reason…and I knew it would be starting any minute…and I was not disappointed. Screams erupted around me as boulders came flying into the city and shattered a nearby building…as the city guard ran towards the walls in the hopes of getting archers on top of them I moved from my spot towards the gate where I overheard a conversation between two guards.

"They don't even have a battering ram," one of them snickered.

"I know how do they plan on getting through the gates?" the second one asked confused.

"They plan on someone inside opening them," I hissed running the first guard through and burning the second to ashes…and in the process drawing the gaze of every soldier in the area. I proceeded to blast the doors off its hinges.

I stood there as the besieging soldier rushed through the gate and set about massacring the opposing forces at the gate…the battle was just beginning as a corpulent (Fat) man strode through the gate with a club held in his hand…

"I'm that much closer to my own personal paradise," he whispered under his fetid breath, "Mercenary get out there and start massacring any who stand in my way."

"As you wish my lord," I stated calmly…a good mercenary doesn't fight for ideals but for his next paycheck, "I will slaughter all who would dare oppose you."

I turned and began walking down the streets…the sun setting behind the wall behind me…it was going to be a bloody night.

-Three hours later…the city burns-

I was walking through a ruined house when I heard crying…I turned to see a girl of 19 sitting in the corner trying to hold back her tears…she saw me then with and just stared.

"Please you've got to help me!" she wailed, "They took my mother…they're going to come for me next please you've got to help me…save me from them."

"I don't have time for this," I snarled raising my sword to strike her down…I'd been given an order…and I would follow it.

"Please no don't!" she screamed as I killed her…I took no pleasure in it…but neither did I deny it.

"What are you doing!" a younger mercenary shouted running past me to examine the girl, "She was defenseless!"

"A mercenary obeys an order when given even when it's one they don't agree with," I snarled bringing my sword to his throat, "If you don't learn this cruel fact of life then you'd best be prepared to join the rest as food for the crows."

"Where is the justice in this?" He asked…I did not know his name nor did I care about him.

"Justice…Mercy…Honor…Friendship," I snarled grabbing him by his collar, "They're just things the weak cling to for hope…they mean nothing…everything in this world is transient."

"How can you sound so bitter?" the mercenary asked gazing at the dead girl, "How can you do something as evil as killing an innocent!?"

"You don't get it do you," I snarled turning to walk from the building, "There is no Good or Evil…only perspective."

I walked out into the streets…and once again drowned myself in the battle to take the city.

-one hour later…All that matters-

I stood on top of a home watching the young mercenary trying to organize the peasants into a defensive unit…I had my orders…all who resisted would die…I jumped down from the roof landing with grace and the terrified screams of the peasants.

"It's him!" a woman screamed clutching a pitch fork.

"We're going to die," a man screamed panicking, "We're all going to die!"

"Hold together!" the young mercenary shouted before turning back to me, "You can still turn back from your path."

"You don't understand," I stated smiling, "I walk this path not for myself but for my people…I will sell my soul to the devil if it grants my people their fondest dream…I will sacrifice everyone and anyone to achieve my goals…for all that matters in this world is power."

"What are you talking about?" he stated the anguish in his eyes.

"Power defines everyone," I snarled raising my sword.

"Power does not define everyone…our actions do!" he shouted.

"I'm disgusted by your naivety," I snarled running him through, "Power is what all dream of…the power to save others…the power to change our fate…but in the end…we are all powerless."

"Why…I trusted you," He whimpered before falling to the ground dead.

I turned towards the group gathered and walked towards them…blade in hand…today I was a day of blood and butchery…

-Present Day-

I rose to my feet feeling no emotion…just the cool calm cruelty of my past…**Power…that was what I sought…the power to reclaim my homeland…for that power I am willing to…to sacrifice everything…friendship is for the weak.**

"I refuse to lose here," I snarled throwing away the broken sword away, "I've too much to do to simply bow before a weakling like you."

I charged her ducking under her attack and striking with a brutal uppercut…the tingling in my right eye began to grow even more…then I realized that there was a shimmering mark on her left knee…it spun as if attempt to draw my attention…I lashed out with a brutal kick and I heard the breaking of bone as she fell to her knees and I ripped her weapon from her hand and struck with a brutal attack from the flat side of the blade…knocking her out cold…**I'll gladly play the role of tyrant…if it means my people's ambitions can be achieved…I will not relent until I can give my people what they deserve.**

"And we've a winner in an amazing comeback," the Arena Master shouted.

As the tingling in my eye faded so did the marks and that was when I realized what it was…it allowed me to see weaknesses in my opponent.

"Eddoe!" Norvain shouted looking worried, "What happened to you?"

"It doesn't matter anymore Norvain," I stated remembering the heat of the burning city, "I'm done playing the games of others."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Norvain asked confused.

"Since this adventure started nothing has gone right," I hissed walking out of the arena and leaving Xaidra behind, "No matter what we do their still one step ahead of us…and who knows what else they'll throw at us."

"Yeah but as long as we work with our allies we'll be fine," Norvain laughed, "After all as you've always said allies make you stronger."

"I need time to think Norvain," I stated walking into the underground, "Come and get me before my next fight."

"Eddoe!" he shouted as I walked out of the arena, "What's happening to him?"

Is one girl's life worth sacrificing so much for?

Here ends the chapter…I'm going to be writing individual chapters for the fights my OC's participate in and the events after them so I can have better detail for the fights…but now on to the overview…Norvain and Eddoe have entered a tournament in Greede and Eddoe has the luck to face someone from his past in the first round…Xaidra is a skilled Farian woman with a chip on her shoulder and apparently some abandonment issues with her best friend…also a Kusarigama is a hand scythe with a chain attached to it and on the other end of the chain is a round metal weight…Eddoe a mercenary who once sought redemption for past sins now seems to be taking a new path…reminded of the acts of his past and realizing that he cannot escape them no matter how hard he tries…will he fall to the darkness or will he be able to accomplish his goals. Please read and review…and as to the reason why I've not posted in a while I was having issues with my laptop…my charger caught fire (Apparently a common occurrence due to wear out) but I've gotten a new one now so hopefully I'll be posting more quickly…also I've a favor to ask people reading this story...if you liked this story could you please read and review one of my other ones…I thank you for reading this and am happy to say I'm glad to be back…on another note I've noticed something about Level-5 (Company that created White Knight Chronicles)…I've played three of their games (WKC, WKC II, and Dark Cloud 2) and all of these have one thing in common (I count WKC and WKC II as having the same starting point)…they all start off the story with an evil circus…I wonder why they do that…if anyone else has played a Level-5 game are there more of their games that do this?

Xaidra-A skilled Farian warrior and friend of Eddoe…she respected him and to her he was her personal hero so when he left Faria it hurt her deeply and is what also drove her towards a military career where she surpassed even the skill of her hero…at least the skills she remembers him having

New Abilities

Eddoe Yonthanx-Scan-Using his right eye he can find out the weaknesses of an enemy (Elemental Weakness, Weak points, and Attack Type Weaknesses)

Name Pronunciation (Most are simple pronunciations but these are only for my OCs in case there was any confusion on how a name was pronounced)

Eddoe (Ed-doe)Yonthanx (Yon-Thanks)

Xaidra (Z-ai-dra)

Norvain (Nor-vain)

Ziron (Zeer-on)

Farlend (Far-lend)

On another note I'm going to start breaking down knights into subclasses based on their appearances and abilities…basically just two…a Knight is either human based or avian based...as well as including their abilities which may or may not change as the story advances…I will not be including basic commands like Slash, Strong Slash, Shield Bash, or Thrust…in the story as those are just normal attacks...Enemy Knights may or may not have a few commands missing so if you see any commands missing for the knights current settings feel free to inform me of it…

White Knight-

Knight Class-Sword and Shield

Subclass-Human

Weapon-White Steel/Aegis Shield

Special Abilities-

Healers Soul-Heal a huge amount of HP

Black Knight-

Knight Class-Sword (It is unknown if it's just basic sword techniques but many say that its techniques are very similar to Longsword attacks)

Subclass-Avian

Weapon-Sword (Name Unknown)

Special Abilities-

Dinavas Boon-Heals a Massive amount of HP

Mode Change-Change from ground to air combat and vice versa


End file.
